content_text:
A lab-coated technician leans over a bioreactor at an Iranian pharmaceutical plant producing cancer drugs — a tall order since equipment imports fell victim to US sanctions.

A huge corridor bathed in artificial light and smelling of disinfectant leads to the bioreactor room at the Actoverco factory. Six hundred people run production lines at the facility in an industrial district of Karaj, about 40km northwest of Tehran.

Technicians wear scrubs, masks, gloves and surgical caps as they work.

In the bioreactor, cells are multiplied and then transferred to tanks for use as cultures to produce medication.

“Much of the equipment that we are using either in production or in laboratory, they are considered as dual-use and they are sanctioned,” plant manager Reza Mostofi said. “We have many issues at the moment. Because of the sanctions, usually we can’t either transfer the money or the supplier is not willing to sell the machinery that we need.”

As COVID-19 spreads in Iran, many people have struggled to find medicine — an issue linked to sanctions reinstated by the US in 2018 after it withdrew from a nuclear deal.

In retaliation, the Islamic republic has reduced its commitments to the deal.

On paper, humanitarian items are exempt from US sanctions, but in reality banks tend to decline transactions involving Iran to avoid being exposed to potential litigation.

“The equipment that we are using, the spare parts and everything, now we have a big issue for repairing the spare parts that are needed,” Mostofi said.

For the past six months, the plant has been unable to produce a drug that is essential for treating leukaemia, he said.

“For some time we have not been able to import the ingredients of this material, so our line ... is now stopped,” the English-speaking manager said.

The company hopes to produce the active ingredient itself, with a “very big” bioreactor, but it faces almost insurmountable difficulties because of the sanctions.

Iranian Ministry of Health spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour voiced concern about the situation.

“Regarding cancer patients, we had no problem because we are producing the medicine ourselves ... [but] our companies want to renew, rebuild and replace their industrial equipment,” Jahanpour said.

There are 500,000 cancer patients in Iran and it is the second biggest cause of death in the country, claiming 30,000 lives a year, he said.

Actoverco, part of a family business established 40 years ago, also produces the drug interferon beta-1a, used to treat multiple sclerosis.

“We cannot provide the patients as much as we want,” Mostofi said. “I hope there would [be] a political solution for this because at the end of the day these are people who are suffering” because of medicine shortages.

He also voiced concern about the new coronavirus.

“Maybe next year there would be a vaccine available [in] some places, but it might not be available here,” he said. “This winter we had shortages of vaccines” for flu.

With the sanctions, “work has become more and more difficult, you feel it every day,” medical physicist Maryam Yaftian said.

The 30-year-old works at Roshana, a private clinic that opened in Tehran three years ago and is equipped with modern facilities.

She points to the difficulty of obtaining supplies including medicine and spare parts for two radiotherapy machines bought from a US company prior to the sanctions.

For troubleshooting, staff at the clinic hold video conferences with Iranian technicians based abroad.

The sanctions have also caused prices to skyrocket for the clinic, which is absorbing some of the increase on behalf of its patients, clinic director Touraj Norouzi said.

In one room, mother of two Seyedeh Hosseini is receiving chemotherapy.

Thanks to financial help from her brothers and father, she feels “lucky” to have been able to undergo treatment for bowel cancer with chemo drugs and an imported infusion pump.

Many patients or their relatives seek chemo treatment abroad, as they do not trust the quality of local products.

The director of a Tehran pharmacy, Shahrzad Shahbani, said she had sought treatment abroad at all costs for her mother, who ultimately lost her battle with cancer.

Nevertheless, “if I had a chemo patient right now, I would not advise them to take local drugs,” she said.

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title: Iran struggles to produce drugs amid US sanctions


content_text:
McIlroy recovers to card 66, but Every takes Bay Hill lead

Rory McIlroy was on Thursday under water early, but sitting high and dry by the end of the opening round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, one stroke behind leader Matt Every in Orlando, Florida.

World No. 1 McIlroy, the 2018 champion, made an inauspicious start when he plunked his approach shot into a lake at his second hole at Bay Hill, but he roared back with five birdies and an eagle.

The Northern Irishman shot six-under-par 66 in pleasant morning conditions, a score that was surprisingly bettered by American Every in more demanding strong afternoon winds.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy lines up a putt for birdie on the eighth green in the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday.
 Photo: AFP

Every, a two-time winner at Bay Hill who has not won anywhere else on tour, displayed his affinity for the course by making seven birdies.

After starting at the 10th tee, McIlroy was particularly pleased with his driving.

“I only missed one or two fairways, and if you can do that around this place, especially with how juicy the rough is, you’re going to give yourself a lot of chances,” McIlroy told reporters. “I hit some really good shots coming in, drove it really well.”

Perhaps none was better than his second at the par-five fourth, where McIlroy struck a sublime fairway bunker shot about 260 yards before draining the 25-foot eagle putt.

While McIlroy’s score was almost expected, Every’s was a horses-for-courses performance.

He has had only one top-70 finish since his return in January from a 12-week suspension for a positive cannabis test.

He said that he used the substance for medical reasons and was legally prescribed the drug in Florida.

“Sometimes I’m really good, sometimes I’m really bad,” Every said. “It’s a weird game.”

“I really just didn’t want to shoot myself out of the tournament. There’s so much trouble out here and I’m not scared to make a double [bogey] here and there,” he added.

Every sank two monster putts in quick succession, a 35-footer at his 10th hole followed by a 50-footer at the next.

“Complete luck,” he said. “Sometimes they just go in.”

Brooks Koepka, who McIlroy recently displaced at the top of the rankings, bogeyed his final two holes for an even-par 72.

Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung and amateur Yu Chun-an each carded a two-over 74 for a share of 80th.

Additional reporting by staff writer

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title: Virus Outbreak: US tests cruise ship for coronavirus

content_text:
‘SENSATIONALIZING’: ‘
 There were two cases on the previous cruise and they act like everybody on board has the plague,’ passenger Carolyn Wright said

Passengers on a cruise ship stranded off the coast of San Francisco on Thursday were confined to their cabins as tests were conducted to determine if any of the nearly 3,500 guests and crew had contracted COVID-19.

Authorities said that the Grand Princess, which had been scheduled to dock on Wednesday, would remain at sea until the test results of those who had shown symptoms of the coronavirus were known.

The California National Guard said that it had flown test kits to the ship on Thursday morning and the findings were expected to be announced yesterday.

An aircrew from Moffett Federal Airfield base, 129th Rescue Wing deliver test kits to the Grand Princess off the coast of California on Thursday.
 Photo: AFP / California National Guard

Carolyn Wright, a passenger, said that the captain announced on Thursday evening that there were “no confirmed cases of coronavirus” and that final results would be released the following day.

Health officials sounded the alarm after two passengers who had been on board during a previous voyage between San Francisco and Mexico later fell ill, and one of them died.

Several other passengers who had remained on the vessel for its next voyage to Hawaii also developed flu-like symptoms.

There were 2,383 passengers and 1,100 crew on board the ship, officials said.

Wright said there was no panic on board and people seemed to be taking the setback in their stride.

“I can’t get over how the news is sensationalizing our ship,” said the 63-year-old photographer from New Mexico, who was traveling with a friend. “There were two cases on the previous cruise and they act like everybody on board has the plague.”

She said that passengers had been free to roam about the ship, but on Thursday were told after lunch to remain in their cabins.

“I think it’s all closing the barn after the horse has left,” Wright said via text messages. “I’m not really worried. If you look at the odds, our risk is pretty low.”

She said the passengers — most of them aged between 60 and 90 — were in good spirits “although that may change if we are stuck in our cabins for too long.”

“Everyone was calm and content up until now, but room service isn’t answering and people are going to get upset quickly without food or liquor,” she said.

Health officials said that it was unclear when or where the ship would be allowed to dock.

Various agencies “are working to determine if COVID-19 is present on the ship,” San Francisco Department of Emergency Management head Mary Ellen Carroll told reporters.

She said that 35 people had shown flu-like symptoms during the 15-day cruise, but many had already recovered.

Carroll said once test results are back, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California state officials would determine the most appropriate location for the ship to berth.

“The location needs to provide for the safety of the surrounding community, as well as the passengers and crew,” she said.

“The CDC and the state are considering a number of locations, including San Francisco,” she added.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said that authorities were trying to contact some of the 2,500 passengers who were on board the previous voyage.

The Grand Princess belongs to Princess Cruises, the same company which operated the Diamond Princess — the ship held off Japan last month, from which more than 700 people tested positive and six died.

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title: Nation’s US relations soar thanks to Duterte

content_text:
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is taking extreme measures again, announcing his decision to end the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, which has been in place for 21 years.

The agreement allows for a unilateral notice to end the pact, which then ceases after 180 days. Since it is the cornerstone of Philippine-US military cooperation, the decision is a direct challenge to the White House.

The abolition would void two other agreements between the nations: the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. It is difficult to predict the effect of this decision on future relations, but Duterte’s blunt move could give Taiwan an edge.

Since his 2016 election, Duterte, who has some Chinese ancestry, has been very China-friendly. On Oct. 7 that year, he notified the US that he would suspend joint patrols in the South China Sea, and he also terminated annual joint military exercises.

The US Congress has since made successive Taiwan-friendly moves, such as US President Donald Trump receiving a congratulatory phone call from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) following his election victory and the inclusion of Taiwan in the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy through the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018.

Last year, the former Coordination Council for North American Affairs was renamed the Taiwan Council for US Affairs, and a US-Taiwan deal confirmed the sale of F-16V fighters to Taiwan.

Taiwan-US relations have indeed improved thanks to Duterte. The US military patrols in the Taiwan Strait last month also prove the US’ determination to protect Taiwan.

It is rather curious that the Philippines has been a “good neighbor” for the past 400 years. Japan ruled Taiwan for 50 years, and China has always claimed it, and its saber rattling and threats continue unabated. The Philippines alone does not threaten Taiwan.

During World War II, US Army general Douglas MacArthur was so eager to regain the Philippines that he changed the Allies’ military plan for attacking Japan by striking directly at Taiwan first, thus allowing Taiwan to avoid the catastrophe of becoming a battlefield.

As the first island chain becomes more and more important for the US’ and Japan’s security, while the US and China compete for hegemony, the Philippines’ pro-China attitude highlights Taiwan’s key role in the chain. The Philippines is, indeed, a “good neighbor” — thanks, Duterte.

Taiwanese might wonder if the situation would turn against them if the next president of the Philippines is pro-US.

The Philippines has always been pro-Western, so the possibility of a policy U-turn is high, but even so, by then Taiwan-US relations might have progressed to an alliance, or perhaps a quasi-alliance.

The Philippines’ pro-US stance would then only strengthen the defensibility of the first island chain, which is still beneficial to Taiwan’s security.

In other words, the situation would benefit Taiwan whether the Philippines are pro-US or anti-US.

This is not to say that Taiwan-Philippines relations are unimportant. The Philippines and Japan both have populations of more than 100 million with territory several times larger than Taiwan’s.

The Philippine’s recent travel ban on Taiwan to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was eventually lifted following negotiations, and the crisis was successfully resolved, which only goes to show that the Philippines is not a bad neighbor.

Huang Tien-lin is a former advisory member of the National Security Council and a national policy adviser to the president.

Translated by Lin Lee-kai

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content_text:
At the Trump Doonbeg golf course on Ireland’s west coast, the ocean has been inching closer to a private bar overlooking the 18th hole. Since the links opened in 2002, waves crashing on the edge of the greens have swallowed about 1m of beach each year.

About 1,300km away in Denmark, a century-old lighthouse was moved inland from a retreating shoreline, while in Portugal, authorities might tear down buildings along 122km of an eroding coast.

Across Europe, the sea is encroaching on nearly one-fifth of the coastline, the EU estimates, eating away landfills, stripping sand from beaches and bringing ecological, economic and human pain.

A coastal management worker builds up flooding and erosion defenses on Germany’s Langeoog Island in the North Sea on May 15 last year.
 Photo: AP

The world might lose almost half of its sandy beaches by the end of the century if climate change is not kept in check, a study in Nature Climate Change this month said.

The study assumes a 4°C increase in temperatures from pre-industrial levels by 2100 that would raise sea levels, leading to erosion and increased coastal flooding.

“A sea level rise means there’ll be an acceleration of erosion,” said Bruno Castelle, a researcher at the University of Bordeaux. “Rising sea levels are a certainty, the magnitude much less so. In any case, we’re headed for increased vulnerability.”

While coastal erosion is a global phenomenon, Europe is especially exposed, with the highest ratio of shoreline to total land area of any continent. Economic development and booming seaside tourism have led to a build up of Europe’s littoral in the past five decades, transforming marginal coastal lands into hot property.

The value of assets within 500m of the EU shoreline was estimated at as much as 1 trillion euros (US$1.1 trillion) in a 2009 study by the European Commission.

Damage from coastal flooding and erosion under a medium-to-high carbon-emission scenario might reach 11 billion euros annually in the next 30 years and 25 billion euros by 2080, an EU-funded report said.

The European Commission’s Green Deal presented in December last year failed to mention either marine erosion or rising sea levels. The bloc’s last comprehensive report on what is whittling away European shores, called Eurosion, dates back to 2004.

EU spokeswoman Ana Crespo Parrondo said erosion data “is not readily available.”

Erosion “is an incredibly underrated problem,” said Jeroen Aerts, a professor who heads the water and climate risk unit at Amsterdam’s Vrije Universiteit. “Due to sea-level rise and coastal erosion, in the future, small storms will have as much impact as major storms now.”

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title: Waves eating into shores threaten land across Europe


title: London mayoral hopeful has walking campaign

content_text:
Two decades ago, Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan, staying with locals along the way. Now he is deploying the same approach to his bid to become mayor of London.

The former Conservative minister and ex-diplomat is criss-crossing the British capital on foot and asking Londoners permission to stay on their sofas to better understand their lives.

“All change begins with getting your feet on the ground,” he said while on one of his walks through Highgate, a leafy suburb in north London.

Rory Stewart, independent candidate for mayor of London, poses for a photograph with supporters in Highgate, London, on Tuesday last week.
 Photo: AFP

It is an unconventional campaign, but the 47-year-old is an unconventional politician.

A one-time soldier, Stewart worked as a British diplomat in Indonesia, the Balkans and Iraq, ran a charity in Kabul and wrote a bestselling book about his solo walk across Afghanistan.

His globe-trotting has sparked speculation that Stewart, like his father, was a spy — something he says he could never confirm.

Stewart went on to become a Conservative member of parliament and minister, and last year challenged now-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the race to become their party’s leader.

He lost, was expelled from the Tories for challenging Johnson’s tough talk on Brexit and is now running against the Labour party’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan as an independent candidate.

“If you really asked me, would I rather be prime minister or mayor, I would much rather be mayor,” Stewart said, wrapping his cold hands around a hot cup of tea.

London’s mayor has a budget of ￡8 billion (US$23 billion) and powers over transport, housing, air quality, planning and economic development.

“The mayor of London has huge potential to change things,” Stewart told a group of mostly young volunteers who have joined him to canvass support in Highgate.

His self-filmed videos of his walks throughout London and his observations — often about the lack of trees — have helped make Stewart something of a social media star.

Khan has criticized him for treating Londoners like “natives” with his walking tours, while his #ComeKipWithMe initiative has also drawn accusations of poverty tourism.

However, Stewart, who has lived his whole life in the same house in the wealthy district of South Kensington, says his approach has given him invaluable insight.

He recently spent a night in a homeless shelter with 10 other men, who spoke to him of their problems with addiction, failed relationships and mental health.

“Clearing my bed away at six in the morning, talking to them about how they got there, I discovered things you’d never find out from a formal policy briefing,” he said.

Stewart, who is married with two young sons, says he would continue his overnight stay initiative even after being elected.

“You talk to them through the night, you wake up, make a cup of tea with them in the morning. And people open up in a way that they don’t if you just knock on the door,” he said.

“I’m not a Conservative. I’m an independent. And I’m not really a professional politician,” he said.

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content_text:
‘STRANDED’:
 Militants forced the entire population of Toou, 400 men, women and children, to leave their homes with almost nothing and walk to a new town

Two months ago, all 400 inhabitants of Toou, a village in Mali, grabbed a few belongings and fled fighting between armed groups, leaving their homes behind among the ghosts of the country’s war.

Today, they sleep in an abandoned school in Sevare near the regional capital, Mopti, packed into two buildings among vacant lots and a dirt road. The men live in one building; the women and children in another.

Toou’s residents have joined a mass of more than 1 million people displaced by the violence in the center of the Sahel, in particular in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso.

“The day is fine, but in the evening, there are people everywhere: here, there, over there and there. There are 10 of us sleeping in the same room,” said Housseini Karembe, 65, waving his hand over the cramped living space.

Karembe and the others left Toou on Jan. 5, when months of tension between traditional Dogon hunters and Muslim militants finally reached the village, spelling its doom.

Summoned by the militants and ordered to leave, the entire village’s population — 400 men, women and children — fled with almost nothing, and walked the 26km to Sevare through the bush and blazing sun.

Karembe sits, leaning against the wall, in an old classroom where the chalk-marked blackboard is a reminder of the children who once studied there. Beside him crackles an old radio.

“We need tents, we can’t stay like this in a school,” said Karembe, a marabout, or village elder, who taught young people the Koran before they fled.

After escaping with little more than cooking pots, some are embarrassed about their situation.

“We have a roof over our heads and we have something to eat,” one resident said. “We mustn’t complain too much.”

Mali’s war erupted in 2012 when Tuareg rebels supported by militants took over the desert north of the country. The rebels were then outmaneuvered by their Islamist allies and the French military intervened to push them back.

The conflict has since swept into the center of Mali and spilled into Burkina Faso and Niger, inflaming ethnic tensions along the way.

More than 5,000 French troops, a regional G5 Sahel military cooperation deal and a UN peacekeeper mission in Mali have not been enough to contain the violence.

For Toou’s residents, that meant leaving their lives and homes behind.

The people from Toou receive coupons from the World Food Programme each month to buy food. A few pots the group use to cook sit in the school courtyard.

“These are the only objects we were able to take when we fled. Things to cook with,” said Telemo Sombor Ga, 55, the brother of the village chief.

For months, Toou had been caught between the militants and a dozo group of traditional Dogon hunters who have united, claiming to defend the population against jihadists in the absence of the state.

The dozo group has styled itself as the bulwark against the jihadists led by Amadou Koufa, a Fulani imam who took up arms in 2015 and trained hundreds of young people under the banner of al-Qaeda. Direct clashes, sporadic in the past, have become more frequent.

Before, jihadists often passed through Toou to preach, but “they left us alone,” Ga said.

Everything changed when the dozo militiamen settled on the hill not far from Toou on Sept. 18 last year. From then, tensions only increased.

“We were caught in the crossfire,” Ga said. “Even women could not go into the bush, no one could go out. We were stranded.”

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title: Malians flee war into uncertainty


title: EVERYDAY ENGLISH

content_text:
A : Another area Beethoven excelled at was creating music that kept pace with the changing times: His style was constantly evolving. Listen to this recording of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata played on a piano from the period.

B : The instrument sounds like a synthesizer, but it has a greater resonance than a harpsichord.

A : It’s played on a predecessor to the modern piano, called a fortepiano.

A : 貝多芬厲害的另一個地方，在於他的創作跟著時代不斷演變。你聽聽看《月光奏鳴曲》這段音樂，這是用他當時的鋼琴演奏的唷。

B : 聽起來好像合成樂器哦，可是又比大鍵琴多了一點共鳴。

A : 這是用現代鋼琴的前身──古鋼琴演奏的。

English 英文:

Chinese 中文:

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content_text:
‘VILLAIN HITTING’:
 Under a bridge considered an ideal spot for dispelling evil, people can pay older women who are professional beaters to place a curse on their enemies

Hong Kongers are seizing on an ancient ritual to relieve their frustration after months of political upheaval, turning to “villain hitting” to curse troublesome people.

Under a bridge considered an ideal spot for dispelling evil, older women who are professional beaters can be paid to place a hex on enemies.

Although a year-round tradition, villain hitting, also known as a “petty person beating,” is considered more effective on Jing Zhe — the year’s first thunder according to the lunar calendar, which occurred this week.

A woman uses a slipper to perform a “villain hitting” ceremony in Hong Kong yesterday.
 Photo: EPA-EFE

Still recovering from last year’s pro-democracy demonstrations that rocked the financial hub for seven months, Hong Kongers on both sides of the political divide are using the popular practice to expel their anger.

“[The government] doesn’t act in the interest of us people and tax payers, so many people come to curse the government and the corrupted police,” Ana Hong said.

While the rallies and clashes have died down, partly due to exhaustion and arrests, but also because of the COVID-19 outbreak, tensions remain.

“We want to release some of the hatred vibe inside... We purposely target our chief executive, Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥),” Mai said.

Further along the pavement, Chou Hung Sheng said that he has “had enough of the destruction of Hong Kong,” which he blames on the demonstrators.

“We’re here today to hit the petty persons. We’ll beat them to the ground,” he said, holding up a picture of a pro-democracy lawmaker. “We’ll beat them out of Hong Kong. We’ll cleanse their minds and souls with the beating, and afterward we can have good days ahead.”

For HK$50 (US$6.43) to HK$500, the women wave incense sticks and murmur curses, while using an old shoe to beat paper effigies, often with the unfortunate person’s name and birthday written on it, in front of a makeshift shrine.

On Jing Zhe, paper tigers, representing bad luck, also appear, and are fed pork to satisfy their hunger and prevent quarreling.

Hong Kong resident Tim, taking part in the ritual for the first time, said: “I do feel that my body and mind feels relaxed afterward.”

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title: Hong Kongers vent anger with ritual


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Ikee calls for blood donations as stocks fall due to disease

Japanese star swimmer Rikako Ikee, who last year stunned fans with news that she was battling leukemia, has launched an urgent appeal for people to give blood after steps to curb the spread of COVID-19 led to a sharp drop in donations.

Ikee, who finished treatment in December last year and has vowed to target the 2024 Paris Olympics, said on Twitter that there were people whose lives depended on donations and that the “drastic decrease” was causing anxiety.

“It’s a difficult time due to the spread of the coronavirus, but even now blood donations are needed with the cooperation of many people,” Ikee said.

Japan’s Rikako Ikee holds up her gold medal after winning the Asian Games women’s 50m freestyle in Jakarta on Aug. 24, 2018.
 Photo: Reuters

“I was also in the hematology department, so I deeply feel the importance of blood transfusions,” she added. “Even one life can save many people’s lives.”

The 19-year-old burst into the spotlight at the 2018 Asian Games, where she won six titles. She was seen as a strong medal contender for this year’s Tokyo Olympics until she was diagnosed with leukemia in February last year.

She has since also become an inspiration outside the pool for others fighting their own medical battles, and has now used her public platform to bring attention to the decline in blood donations.

Blood donations are crucial for a wide range of patients, from those with cancer or anemia to accident victims and women with labor complications.

However, the Japanese Red Cross Society said that measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak, including the cancelation of public events and encouraging people to stay home for work, have made it hard to carry out blood drives.

About 13,000 donations are needed every day, but the group has missed this target since the week of Feb. 16.

“This situation is expected to increase and it is feared it will be difficult to maintain a stable inventory of blood products as the number of donors decreases,” the organization said. “We sincerely ask for your cooperation in donating blood.”

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title: Telecoms unveil similar pricing structure for 5G

content_text:
The nation’s top three telecoms yesterday revealed initial pricing plans for 5G services ahead of commercial launches amid intensifying competition for subscriptions.

Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s largest telecom, unveiled its “5G experience pass,” which allows 4G subscribers on its NT$1,399 (US$46.57) monthly plan to upgrade to 5G at that rate for 12 months, it said in a news release.

The plan, set to launch on Tuesday next week, would initially only be available to customers that have purchased Samsung Electronic Co 5G mobile phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S20.

An employee wearing a mask, left, assists customers looking at a Samsung Electronics Co Galaxy S20 smartphone at the company’s D’light flagship store in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. The smartphone is one of the few 5G capable devices supported by Taiwanese telecoms, who are preparing to launch their 5G offerings this year.
 Photo: Bloomberg

Chunghwa last month secured 90 megahertz (MHz) of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, considered the optimal bandwidth for 5G services, as well as 600MHz in the 28GHz frequency band, costing the company NT$58.37 billion.

Although Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) revealed its 5G pricing plan last month, it yesterday updated its offerings with a similar fee structure, allowing customers paying for its NT$1,399 4G data plan to upgrade to 5G without an additional fee.

The nation’s second-biggest telecom said that subscribers would also benefit from a NT$2,500 discount on 5G smartphone purchases or other electronic devices of equal value.

Consumers who purchase the Samsung Galaxy S20 would receive an additional NT$5,000 discount on their monthly subscriptions, it said.

Taiwan Mobile paid NT$30.66 billion to secure 60MHz of 5G bandwidth in the 3.5GHz band, the lowest among Taiwan’s telecom operators, along with 200MHz in the 28GHz band.

With similar offerings available, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (遠傳電信) yesterday said that it would provide free 5G service upgrades for customers subscribed to its NT$1,399 data plan.

Subscribers who purchase 5G smartphones with data plan bundles can also apply for its 12-month 5G experience package, the company said.

Far EasTone secured 80MHz of the 3.5GHz band, as well as 400MHz of the 28GHz frequency band, which is considered part of the fastest 5G bandwidth, for NT$43.04 billion.

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content_text:
One of China’s most ambitious projects becomes a corridor to nowhere

The four-times-a-week propeller plane from Karachi whips up a cloud of dust as it lands on an arid airstrip. Passengers cross the tarmac in the scorching sun and enter an arrivals terminal not much larger than a tractor-trailer rig. Outside, soldiers carrying AK-47s are waiting.

This is Gwadar, a remote scratch of land on Pakistan’s southwest coast. Its port is the last stop on a planned US$62 billion corridor connecting China’s landlocked westernmost province to the Arabian Sea, the crown jewel of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) Belt and Road Initiative.

Plans called for a seaport, roads, railways, pipelines, dozens of factories and the largest airport in Pakistan, but almost seven years after the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was established, there is little evidence of that vision being realized.

The site of the new airport, which was supposed to have been completed with Chinese funding more than three years ago, is a fenced-off area of scrub and dun-colored sand. Specks of mica in the dirt are the only things that glitter.

The factories have yet to materialize on a stretch of beach along the bay south of the airport and traffic at Gwadar’s tiny, three-berth port is sparse. A Pakistan navy frigate is the only ship docked there during a recent visit, and there is no sign of the sole scheduled weekly cargo run from Karachi.

Less than one-third of announced CPEC projects have been completed, totaling about US$19 billion, government statements showed.

Pakistan bears much of the blame. It has repeatedly missed construction targets, as it ran out of money. Last year, it received a US$6 billion bailout from the IMF, the country’s 13th since the late 1980s. Two successive prime ministers have been jailed on corruption charges.

The Baloch Liberation Army’s desire for a separate homeland in Balochistan Province, where Gwadar is located, has made life there uneasy. In May, militants stormed the city’s only luxury hotel, shooting up the white-marbled lobby and killing five people.

However, setbacks in Gwadar point to larger problems in the Belt and Road Initiative. China is scaling back its ambitions, not just in Pakistan, but around the world. Its economic growth has slowed to the lowest rate in three decades, inflation is rising and the country has been feeling the effects of trade tensions with the US.

The picture is getting even darker as the COVID-19 outbreak threatens to cause more delays and cutbacks.

“The biggest constraint for China now is its own economy,” Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies senior fellow Jonathan Hillman said.

In a number of countries, projects have been canceled, downsized or scrutinized. Malaysia renegotiated the terms of a rail link being built by China and scrapped US$3 billion of planned pipelines.

In Kenya, a court halted construction last year on a US$2 billion power plant financed by China. In Sri Lanka, new leaders have said that they want to regain control of a port in Hambantota that was leased to a Chinese company for 99 years when the previous government could not pay back a loan.

That takeover sparked concern in many Belt and Road countries that China’s largesse comes with the risk of ceding critical infrastructure. It has increased wariness about the price of indebtedness to China, which the Washington-based Center for Global Development said has put at least eight nations, including Pakistan, at high risk of debt distress.

All that could result in shaving hundreds of billions of dollars off an estimated US$1 trillion in planned Belt and Road spending, a report released in September last year by law firm Baker McKenzie said.

While the value of signed projects increased last year, data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce show that actual spending stalled at US$75 billion last year after falling 14 percent the previous year.

Total spending from the beginning of 2014, shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) announced the initiative, through November last year has been US$337 billion, government figures showed, far short of China’s ambitious goals.

Pakistan might be a harbinger of bigger problems, said Hillman, who directs Reconnecting Asia, a project that tracks Belt and Road progress.

“That is generally where the rest of the Belt and Road seems to be going,” he said. “It’s not dead in the water, but I’m skeptical whether China is going to be able to achieve what it set out to do.”

Gwadar is shaped like a barbell dangling from Pakistan’s coastline. A strip of sandbar and rocks less than 1km wide at its narrowest connects to a rocky outcrop where the luxury Zaver Pearl-Continental Hotel sits like fortress.

The city of 140,000 is closer to the Iranian border than to Karachi, a 10-hour drive, in an area so remote that it was part of the Sultanate of Oman until 1958.

Just getting around is a challenge. Foreign visitors must be accompanied by an entourage of 10 Pakistani soldiers in flatbed trucks. At the deep-water port on the eastern side of the barbell, there is little sign of commerce on a hot October day.

The only cargo ship that calls in Gwadar, operated by China’s Cosco Shipping Holdings Co, delivers construction materials and sometimes departs with seafood. Occasionally, it does not arrive at all.

A manager who answers Cosco’s telephone in Karachi, where the weekly run originates, said that the line is operational, but that it is up to the captain whether he wants to stop in Gwadar or go directly to Oman.

The captain recently had a cold and did not want to stop, the manager said.

Yet, Gwadar Port Authority Chairman Naseer Khan Kashani maintains that all is well.

Cosco was frustrated by problems with a Web-based customs system, but it has been sorted out, he said, sitting in his office at the port.

He declined to give figures for cargo volume.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Kashani said. “The volume of trade is going to increase tremendously.”

That view is echoed by Zhang Baozhong (張保中), chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Co, which operates Gwadar’s port and free-trade zone.

He dismissed the apparent inactivity with a wave of his hand, comparing it to four years earlier when he first arrived.

Then, there was only one flight a week to Gwadar, with a handful of people on it, he said.

“My impression was that this place was completely neglected by the whole world,” Zhang said. “I felt this was a mission impossible.”

Now, there is progress — US$250 million in port renovations, including new cranes for unloading cargo, a business center, a desalination plant and sewage disposal — he said.

“This port is now becoming a node in international shipping,” Zhang said. “Of course, the quantity is not big enough, but it takes time. By 2030, we believe Gwadar will be a new economic hub of Pakistan and will be the highest GDP contributor to Pakistan’s economy.”

A free-trade zone was established in Gwadar in 2015, and officials said that nine or 10 companies, including a Chinese steelmaker and a Pakistani producer of edible oils, have signed up.

However, there are no signs of any factories operating.

An additional 30 are targeted for the free zone’s “Phase II,” closer to the site of the new airport, into which US$400 million has been invested so far, officials said.

Twice that number of companies applied, including firms from European countries, Zhang said.

“It’s going to be established in the near future,” Kashani said. “They talk about the CPEC slowing down, but nothing is slowing down.”

The zones still need critical infrastructure, including water and power, the CPEC’s Web site said.

Construction began in November last year on a 300-megawatt, US$542 million plant, which would run on imported coal and is expected to reduce the frequency of power cuts.

An acute scarcity of water, with annual rainfall of less than 10cm, was alleviated by freak rains in 2018 that temporarily filled reservoirs, Gwadar Development Authority director-general Shahzeb Kakar said.

The city would meet needs by building desalination plants, he said.

A plan for a “safe city” project with surveillance cameras might reduce the need for Gwadar to feel like it is under military occupation.

“We have three basic issues — power, water and security,” Kakar said. “All three of these issues have now been taken care of. Now things are moving in the right direction.”

Not everyone is so upbeat.

Life for people in the area has not improved much after five years of planned developments, Gwadar-based Balochistan Review editor Mariyam Suleman said.

“Their neighborhoods are still without good infrastructure,” she said. “There’s a sewage issue. There isn’t electricity for long hours, especially in summer, and the water crisis has always been an issue.”

Even if Gwadar were not under the threat of violence, and had sufficient power and water to operate 40 factories, it does not have enough people to work in them.

The city’s population, mostly fishers and their families, is about one-fifth that of Washington’s.

A proposal for a project called China-Pak Hills envisages a gated community with a “Hong Kong financial district” and luxury housing for 500,000 Chinese professionals who could move to Gwadar and provide a labor force by 2022 — an influx that would not sit well with either Baloch separatists or the Pakistani government, Karachi-based Collective for Social Science Research economist Asad Sayeed said.

It is also hard to imagine how Gwadar would need Pakistan’s largest airport, with capacity for Airbus A300 jets and 27,216 tonnes of cargo annually.

Yet that is the plan for the 1,740 hectare area demarcated by razor-wire fence on the outskirts of town. Announced in 2014, the new airport was supposed to have been built by China Communications Construction Co, the largest builder of projects along the Belt and Road, with a US$230 million loan from China and a grant from Oman.

However, construction has never begun.

The following year, the Chinese government said that it would convert the loan to a grant and Pakistani officials said that the airport would be completed by the end of 2016, then by October 2017 — still nothing.

Last year, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan traveled to Gwadar and broke ground on a new airport site.

A new contractor was announced to take over: A branch of state-owned China Railway Engineering Corp, which would also build schools and a hospital. Completion is scheduled for 2022.

During a visit in October last year, a tractor started up and began driving around the empty, dusty stretch of land without evident purpose.

“They are doing as much as they can at the moment to show it is still happening,” said Andrew Small, author of the 2015 book The China-Pakistan Axis and a senior fellow at the Washington-based German Marshall Fund.

Khan’s government is simply trying to complete about US$20 billion worth of CPEC projects in the works, mostly power plants, under pressure from China, Small said.

“The full-scale version is not really in the cards,” he said. “It’s going to land in a far more modest place than envisaged. It’s not going to be a game changer.”

The CPEC project was intended to reduce oil and gas routes from the Middle East by thousands of kilometers, a way to cut overland into western China instead of going thousands of kilometers around South Asia and Southeast Asia by ship.

Pakistan was supposed to get 2.3 million jobs and a 2.5 percentage-point boost to its GDP.

The deal, negotiated by former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and touted in a 2017 communique by his successor, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, after Sharif was jailed on corruption charges, called for the corridor to start taking shape by this year. It was described as a pilot project, a model for Belt and Road countries around the world.

Pakistan, long allied with China to counter the regional weight of India, wanted help developing its mineral-rich, but poorest and most restive province. It also wanted to quell separatists in the Baloch Liberation Army who not only attacked the Pearl-Continental Hotel last year, but also killed four people at the Chinese consulate in Karachi in 2018.

The militant group was seeking to halt plans that they believed would enable Pakistan’s government to take more resources from the area, rather than aid residents. More attacks in recent months have killed more than a dozen Pakistani soldiers and security personnel.

China might have objectives besides better oil and gas routes. Western governments have long been concerned that Belt and Road spending is helping China develop what is known as a “string of pearls” — ports that can be used by its navy, from the South China Sea across the Arabian Sea and on to Africa.

Although China and Pakistan both deny any military intentions, Gwadar could be a stopping point on the way from Sri Lanka through the Maldives to Djibouti, where China has built its first military base on the Horn of Africa.

Beijing’s plans for the Pakistan corridor also include development in China’s Xinjiang region, where it has attempted to curb unrest.

If China’s interests were purely economic, it could have helped expand the port of Karachi, already connected to the highway from China, instead of seeking to build new roads through desolate, dusty and dangerous Balochistan, Sayeed said.

Whatever their ambitions, China and Pakistan have had to scale them back. Khan inherited an economic disaster.

To address its account deficit, Khan’s administration has cut imports, depreciated the rupee, slashed spending and raised taxes. GDP growth fell to an estimated 2.4 percent last year, from 5.8 percent in 2018, as manufacturing experienced double-digit percentage declines and exports remained flat.

As for China, which has become the world’s largest creditor, it is refocusing on smaller projects crafted for the needs of recipient countries. Winning hearts and minds has become more important than announcements of gargantuan airports.

Instead, according to guidelines issued by Xi in late 2018, people-to-people exchanges in education, science and technology, culture, and tourism would help make Belt and Road projects “deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.”

All this seeks to downplay the more strategic aspects of what China has sought to achieve, Washington-based National Bureau of Asian Research senior fellow Nadege Rolland said.

“My hunch is there won’t be big splashes of money anymore,” she said. “The investments were only an incentive.”

China’s ultimate objective “is not to build connectivity, but to increase Beijing’s political and strategic influence,” she said.

This means that even if Belt and Road spending ends up being one-third of what was originally forecast, China might still have gotten its money’s worth.

It would have broadened its influence in countries that are potential providers of natural resources, as well as future markets, and gained allies in international arenas such as the UN at a time when the US is pulling back.

On a visit to Beijing in October last year, Khan assured Chinese officials that CPEC plans are proceeding, but with Pakistan’s budget maxed out and austerity imposed by the IMF, it is clear that there is not to be any big, new projects and unclear how many of the current ones can be finished, Hillman said.

Still, both Pakistan and China pledged during Khan’s visit “to speedily execute the CPEC so that its growth potential can be fully realized,” an official communique said.

Even if the corridor to Gwadar could be developed and security issues resolved, there is only the Karakoram Highway, an inhospitable, two-lane route through the treacherous mountains separating China and Pakistan.

It is prone to landslides and threatened by attacks, and has yet to be connected to roads leading to Gwadar, said Alyssa Ayres, Washington-based senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It’s hard to imagine this as a viable freight corridor,” she said.

Hillman has come to a similar conclusion, though one with wider implications.

“The Chinese are having some regret about making Pakistan the flagship,” he said. “There’s a lot more caution on all sides.”

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title: Venezuela’s Ratgirls riding against sexism

content_text:
When she rides alone around the streets of Caracas astride a Suzuki GS500, Ana Julia Mosquera tucks her long hair inside her helmet and wears baggy clothes.

“Sometimes I prefer to ride looking like a man, for safety,” she said.

Not just for safety, but also to avoid comments she and her fellow members of the Venezuelan all-female Ratgirls biker group suffer on a regular basis.

A member of the Ratgirls bike club sits on her motorcycle outside a bar in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 24.
 Photo: AFP

Mosquera has become immune to sexist quips like: “That’s a lot of bike for you.”

The 23 members of the Ratgirls are not looking to start a fight between the sexes, but they want respect from a biker world dominated by men.

“Crazy things always happen to us in the street,” said Mosquera, a 32-year-old audiovisual producer and Ratgirls president.

The Ratgirls, who were formed in 2014 after the mixed Rats biker club banned women, are identified by a black leather jacket with orange stripes, embroidered with the words: “Long life.”

Safety in numbers is crucial in a city such as Caracas, one of the most violent in the world.

Three times someone has tried to steal Mosquera’s bike. She even keeps its battery locked inside a cage.

Venezuela’s murder rate last year was 21 per 100,000 inhabitants, government data showed, but the Venezuelan Observatory non-governmental organization said the figure was actually 60: 10 times the global average.

The Ratgirls ride in groups to reduce the chance of being the victims of crime.

Several times they have been mistaken for notorious colectivos — civilians armed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime who also ride bikes.

Oil-rich, but cash-strapped Venezuela is in the grip of five years of recession, and a chronic economic crisis that has left millions in poverty and shortfalls in basic necessities, such as food and medicine.

However, Maduro’s regime has maintained price controls on fuel — a great advantage for the Ratgirls, Mosquera said.

The Ratgirls are not just trying to show off, though, theirs is the kind of passion that leaves hands dirty.

Some, like Jennifer Rodriguez, are learning to fix their bikes themselves. She thinks nothing of tackling her Keeway Superlight 200 to mend a problem.

Half Spanish and half Venezuelan, Rodriguez joined the club just over a year ago.

“I started riding around with them and I stayed, now they’re my family,” said the single mother with a 10-year-old daughter.

Although the Rats biker club barred women from its club, the two groups still take part in events together, said Jose Gonzalez, vice president of the men’s club.

The 47-year-old, a professional photographer, acknowledges there is a “macho culture” in Venezuela that opposes women bikers.

“The Ratgirls have done better than other [male clubs], they ride more and have more activities than many [male] clubs,” Gonzalez said.

The Ratgirls “have a motto: no one is more than anyone if they don’t work harder than the other,” Mosquera said.

Maryelitza Sanchez, a 48-year-old mother of two, learned to ride a motorcycle out of necessity to get around town.

“The only thing I’d ridden before in my life was a bicycle,” the personal trainer said.

She had always been attracted to motorbikes, but her parents prevented her from riding one out of fear.

After Sanchez got married, her husband was also against the idea.

“We went around in a car,” she said.

Everything changed two years ago when she got divorced and needed to use the collapsed metro system in Caracas.

“Every day I went through a different issue in the metro. There was always a problem, I arrived late or not at all,” she said.

After falling twice from her Bera 150, she overcame her initial fears.

“It’s a unique feeling of freedom, of dominion, of control, of power. I feel powerful when I’m on the motorbike,” she said.

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content_text:
CRIME

Severed head a mystery

Authorities yesterday were trying to trace the identity of a dead baby whose severed head was found dumped at a renovation site at Shuanghu Forest Park (雙湖) two days ago, Kaohsiung police said. Sanmin Precinct police had been visiting local hospitals in search of possible clues to the identity of the baby’s mother, but to no avail. The infant’s body had not been found, but an initial autopsy of the head suggested that the baby was only a few days old, based on the roughly 10cm diameter of the skull, the precinct said. The severed head was found on Wednesday by workers at the park, which used to be Fudingjin Public Cemetery (覆鼎金). Pieces of fractured bones were also found around the perimeter of the find, but so far it had not been determined whether they were part of the remains of the baby, investigators said yesterday. It was not known whether the abandoned infant was a boy or girl, they added.

CRIME

Filipino jailed for four years

A Filipino on Thursday was sentenced to four years in jail by the Taoyuan District Court for sexually assaulting an American woman while she was asleep on a flight from the US to Taiwan last year. Although the woman did not attend the court hearing, the 40-year-old Filipino, identified only as Kenneth, was convicted of the crime based primarily on a tissue swab taken from the woman’s thigh, which contained his DNA, the court said. The sexual assault took place on an Aug. 12 flight from Seattle to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Kenneth talked to the woman and found that she was traveling alone, then, after she fell asleep, he started to touch her sexually, taking advantage of the lights being turned off during the flight, the court said. The woman later awoke and after realizing what had happened reported the incident to flight attendants, leading to Kenneth’s arrest by aviation police when the plane landed in Taiwan. Kenneth denied sexual assault, saying that the woman did not complain, resist or ask for help when he was touching her, a police report said. The court rejected Kenneth’s defense and found him guilty of sexual assault. After completing the sentence he would be deported, the court said.

DIPLOMACY

Ministry seeks ambassadors

Young Taiwanese who are interested in becoming “youth ambassadors” and representing their nation in the Pacific, Southeast Asia or South Asia now have a chance to get involved, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The ministry has begun accepting applications from Taiwanese university and graduate-school students aged 18 to 35 for the openings in this year’s Youth Ambassador program. Those studying social sciences, information technology, science and engineering, medicine or communications are welcome to join the program, the ministry said, adding that three slots have been reserved for the children of so-called “new immigrants,” generally defined as people from Southeast Asia or China who have married a Taiwanese and live in Taiwan. Divided into three groups of 25, the “ambassadors” would embark on 10-day trips, likely in August, to Tuvalu and Fiji in the Pacific; the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand in Southeast Asia; or India in South Asia, it said. Interested students should download the application form from www.youthtaiwan.net. Students with queries about the application process can call (02) 2348-2017 or (02) 2348-2231; or send an e-mail to cjliu@mofa.gov.tw or taiwanngo@gmail.com, it said. The application process is open until the end of next month.

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title: Taiwan News Quick Take


content_text:
A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE:
 The hotel, which has had only one profitable year since it opened, would close on Monday, as it faces increasing competition and high rent

Landis Hospitality Group (麗緻餐旅集團) yesterday approved plans to close Landis Taichung Hotel (台中亞都麗緻飯店) next week, as the COVID-19 outbreak sharpens losses in an increasingly crowded market.

“As the virus outbreak is to persist for a while, the board decided it is better to shut down the Taichung property to rein in losses,” Landis Hospitality director of finance and accounting Kay Ku (古亦敏) told a news briefing at the Taipei Exchange Market.

The 13-year-old property is the first five-star hotel to exit the Taiwanese market as tourist arrivals fall and local travelers forgo gatherings over fear of the flu-like disease.

The outlet has accumulated NT$350 million (US$11.7 million) in losses as of the third quarter of last year, with slim chances of generating profit against growing competition and operation costs, the hotel and restaurant operator said.

The group — which also runs the Landis Taipei Hotel (台北亞都麗緻飯店) and has franchise relationships with four other hotels in New Taipei City, Hsinchu and Tainan — also said that high rent expenses contributed to the closure, which is to take effect on Monday.

Landis Hospitality said that it would seek arbitration if the landlord, Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽), claims damage beyond the premature cancelation fees stipulated in the lease. The group reportedly sought rent concessions, but to no avail.

High rent forced Westin Taipei (台北威斯汀六福皇宮) out of the market in 2018.

Despite its convenient location in central Taichung, Landis Taichung struggled in an increasingly crowded market that has been joined by the Place Taichung (台中大毅老爺行旅) and Millennium Hotels and Resorts (台中日月千禧酒店), as well as other international hotel brands that are expected to open in the area.

Landis Hospitality would help more than 200 employees find jobs at other hotels and provide full refunds for hotel and restaurant vouchers, group chairwoman Michelle Hsu (徐儷萍) said.

With a focus on business travelers, the hotel failed to turn a profit since its 2007 opening, with the exception of 2010.

Hsu said that she had tried to defend the Taichung property, which has come under criticism from the board over the years for its poor earnings.

The affiliated Pause Landis (璞石麗緻溫泉會館) in New Taipei City’s mountainous Wulai District (烏來) has halted operations from Feb. 14 to Sunday next week, as the hot-spring resort has also been hard hit by the outbreak.

Hsu did not comment on reports that Cathay Life’s affiliated hotels would seek to fill the vacancy.

The group reported NT$54.01 million in net losses for the first three quarters of last year, with the hotel wing accounting for 80.74 percent, Landis Hospitality data showed.

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title: Landis shuts struggling Taichung hotel


title: EDITORIAL CARTOON

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title: Macronix reports surge in revenue, up 36 percent

content_text:
SIDESTEPPING THE VIRUS:
 The chipmaker said it has not experienced major effects from the virus outbreak, as it makes chips in Taiwan, and as 5G-related orders continue

Macronix International Co (旺宏電子), which makes memory chips used in Nintendo Co’s game consoles, has had a strong start to this year. It yesterday posted 36 percent annual growth in revenue for the past two months, undaunted by a global outbreak of COVID-19.

However, the Hsinchu-based chipmaker told investors that the epidemic has dimmed the business outlook for the current quarter, as it prior to the outbreak forecast that chip prices would rise.

In the first two months of the year, revenue expanded to NT$5.53 billion (US$184.09 million), compared with NT$4.07 billion in the same period last year, the company said in a statement, adding that on a monthly basis, revenue rose 0.8 percent from NT$2.76 billion.

Macronix said that it has not seen any major effects from the epidemic, as it makes chips in Taiwan, nor has it seen any virus-induced order cuts, as 5G infrastructure deployments continue worldwide.

Separately, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that its board of directors has approved a cash dividend of NT$1.2 per share, flat from last year, with the payout ratio climbing from 24 percent to 73 percent.

Earnings per share were NT$1.64 last year, down from NT$4.94 in 2018, it said.

The board also gave the go-ahead to raise funds through the issuance of 360 million new shares for existing shareholders in the form of global depository receipts or corporate bonds, the filing said.

Up to 180 million shares are to be offered via a private placement for local and overseas investors, it said.

The proceeds would be used to finance operations, the filing said.

Macronix plans to spend NT$8.7 billion on ramping up 3D NAND flash memory chip production at the end of this year, it said.

The chipmaker said in a separate filing that it plans to retire a less-advanced 6-inch fab and concentrate on making memory chips at 8-inch and 12-inch fabs.

The 6-inch fab contributed about 3.3 percent to Macronix’s revenue of NT$35 billion last year, it said.

A total of 330 jobs at the 6-inch fab would be moved to other facilities or units within the company, it added.

The plans are pending shareholders’ approval during an annual meeting scheduled for May 27.

In related news, memorychip maker Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) yesterday posted a 3.57 percent yearly growth in revenue for the first two months, after revenue last month jumped 13.73 percent annually.

In January and February, revenue totaled NT$7.41 billion, up from NT$7.15 billion in the same period last year, it said.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: One Taiwan case added, total hits 45

MUSICIAN’S TRAIL:
 The CECC said that 103 people who had close contact in Taiwan with an Australian composer who had COVID-19 had been told to enter quarantine

Taiwan yesterday confirmed one additional COVID-19 case, bringing the national total to 45, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.

The 45th patient is a woman in her 50s who had been hospitalized in the same ward as Taiwan’s 34th novel coronavirus patient, the CECC said.

She had not traveled abroad in the past few months. She was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 due to an unrelated ailment and spent time in the same ward as the other patient, although in a different room, before being discharged on Feb. 20, it said.

EVA Air cabin crew walk through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Due to being on the same flight as an Australian composer who tested positive for COVID-19, flight crew and passengers who had seats near him were ordered by the Centers for Disease Control to undergo 14-day home quarantine, while others were told to practice self-health management after returning home.
 Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times

The woman was found to have contracted the disease after health authorities on Sunday screened the people with whom the 34th patient might have come into contact with, it said.

She was confirmed as being infected following a second positive test on Thursday and was put in a negative-pressure isolation room, the CECC said.

Meanwhile, the CECC said that an Australian composer who tested positive for COVID-19 posed a low risk of community spread during his time in Taiwan from Feb. 23 to Monday.

The composer — who the CECC did not name — performed at the National Concert Hall in Taipei on Friday and Sunday last week.

Australian authorities on Thursday confirmed him as a new coronavirus case after he disembarked from EVA Air (長榮航空) Flight BR315, which departed from Taipei on Monday and landed in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also a CECC official, said that 147 people were identified as having come into contact with the composer in Taiwan, including 103 who have been ordered into home quarantine.

The 103 included 19 orchestra members, eight reporters, 17 hotel staff, 15 drivers, three personal acquaintances of the composer’s, and 12 crew and six passengers on the flight, he said.

Twenty-three people who attended the performances were on the home-quarantine list, too, as they sat within 2m of the composer, according to video footage, he said.

Other audience members are advised to closely monitor their health and seek medical attention if any symptoms occur, he said.

Not being able to reach the composer, the CECC could not confirm whether he had worn a mask on the flight, but he had spent most of his time in Taiwan not wearing one, Chuang said.

The composer’s schedule here was business-related for the most part, including rehearsals from Tuesday to Thursday last week, followed by the two performance days, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.

Apart from consulting a doctor on Thursday last week, the composer mostly traveled between the hotel and the performance venue, Chen said.

Those who drove him have been ordered into home quarantine after being identified via video footage, Chen said, adding that the composer did not use public transportation.

The composer departed the UK and transited in Bangkok before arriving in Taiwan, where officials collected his details after he reported having a cough, but entry was approved as he exhibited no symptoms.

With many people who attended the performances being teachers, they are advised not to return to work immediately, but to monitor their health at home, Chen said.

In other developments, the CECC yesterday said that 19 Taiwanese evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan would be discharged from quarantine today.

The move comes after none of them were confirmed as having contracted COVID-19 after a third round of testing, it said.

The previous two rounds of testing, which also came back negative, were conducted immediately after their return aboard a charter flight from Tokyo on Feb. 21.

They were put in isolation in separate rooms at a quarantine center.


title: Virus Outbreak: Tainan promotes outdoor weddings

content_text:
By Yang Ching-cheng and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Tainan Tourism Bureau is collaborating with local wedding, travel and hospitality companies to promote outdoor wedding services, hoping to boost tourism amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

As people avoid crowded indoor spaces to prevent infection, outdoor tourist destinations are gaining popularity, inspiring the city to launch a special campaign to promote the local wedding and tourism industry, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said yesterday.

People interested in taking part in the Tainan Outdoor Weddings Promotional Activity can apply until Nov. 30, with the first 10 approved applicants to receive from the mayor the same 12 wedding gifts that the city government gave to Taiwanese model Lin Chi-ling (林志玲) when she got married in her parents’ hometown in November last year, bureau Director-General Kuo Chen-hui (郭貞慧) said.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che, fourth left, newlyweds, and representatives from tourism and wedding companies hold gifts at a promotional event at Jianshanpi Jiangnan Resort in Tainan’s Liuying District yesterday.
 Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times

The other approved applicants would receive six of the gifts, Kuo added.

The 12 auspicious gifts Lin received from Huang were bamboo charcoal, rice, sesame oil, salt, soy, vinegar, tea, a silk quilt, longan honey, burdock roots, a rush-woven bag and a wedding cake.

“Tainan has a lot to offer, including tasty food, nice tourist sites and great wedding-related services, so the city hopes that people follow in Lin’s footsteps and choose it as the place they tie the knot,” Huang said.

Information about the promotion is available online at www.twtainan.net/zh-tw/event/activitydetail/3881.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Local governments preparing kits for home quarantine

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT:
 Many governments are working with firms such as Line, KKBox and Shopee so that people can stream video and music, and shop

To support people undergoing a 14-day home quarantine due to COVID-19, local governments are preparing “quarantine care bags,” with items such as masks, food, soap and access to streaming services.

The Hsinchu City Government said that its kits include masks, a thermometer, a sanitizing agent and trash bags, as well as a variety of food items, such as instant noodles, locally produced rice noodles, ramen and shredded pork, as well as pickled vegetables and canned corn.

In addition to sweet mixed congee, soda crackers and a packet of sweet puffs, the kits would also include access to Line TV and Line Music for 14 days, it said.

A home quarantine kit — containing various snacks, cookies, instant noodles, masks, a bottle of water, soft drinks and a pack of traditional Chinese medicine — prepared by the Taoyuan City Government is pictured on Sunday.
 Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times

The Hsinchu County Government said it is preparing masks, bleach, soap and a thermometer, as well as an information sheet containing telephone numbers for quarantine-related assistance.

The Pingtung County Government said it would provide communication information in its kits for people that need help during the quarantine period.

The Yunlin County Government said that its kits include information sheets, masks, soap, a towel, packets of dried noodle snacks and a can of sweet mixed congee.

Yunlin also has 300 codes to distribute for unlimited viewing on the app Top News, developed by Taiwan Optical Platform, it said.

The New Taipei City Government said that people would receive “physical and digital care bags,” with the former including 14 masks, information sheets and a care letter from the mayor.

It also has 3,000 codes for 14 days of unlimited viewing on video platforms Catchplay, myVideo and Line TV, it added.

The Taoyuan City Government said that its kit includes small snacks, instant noodles, water bottles, cereal and medicinal herbs to help boost the body’s immune system.

It was also working with Catchplay, Line Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom, KKBox and Shopee to distribute codes for people to stream video and music, and to shop online during the quarantine period, it said.


content_text:
BILLIONAIRE DENIED:
 One of the most notable moments of the US senator’s presidential campaign was her debate evisceration of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, once a favorite to win the Democratic presidential nomination, on Thursday dropped out of the race, setting up a two-man duel between former US vice president Joe Biden and US Senator Bernie Sanders.

“I am suspending my campaign for president,” the 70-year-old announced following her disappointing performance in the Super Tuesday primaries this week.

“But I guarantee I will stay in the fight for the hardworking folks across the country who have gotten the short end of the stick,” Warren told reporters outside her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Gwen Speeth holds a sign outside former Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren’s home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday after the US senator ended her campaign.
 Photo: Reuters

Warren said she was not ready to endorse either of the two remaining major candidates.

She told MSNBC in an interview that she respected Biden, but they came at many issues from “different directions,” while adding Sanders was an old friend with whom she had worked for “a very, very long time.”

Warren’s withdrawal leaves only one woman in the Democratic field, US Representative Tulsi Gabbard, but she has never been a significant factor, polling at less than 1 percent.

Warren said that she regretted there would not be a woman in the top spot on the Democratic ticket against US President Donald Trump in November.

“The hardest part of this is all those little girls who are going to have to wait four more years,” she said.

US Senator Amy Klobuchar pulled out earlier this week, while two other female US senators — Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand — dropped out earlier.

Warren was asked whether being a woman had something to do with her lackluster performance.

“If you say: ‘Yeah, there was sexism in this race,’ everyone says: ‘Whiner,” she said. “And if you say: ‘No, there was no sexism,’ about a bazillion women think: ‘What planet do you live on?’”

Warren’s withdrawal came after she failed to win a single state on Super Tuesday, including her own, Massachusetts.

Her decision to quit the race came a day after that of billionaire former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who dropped out after a disappointing showing of his own.

One of the most notable moments of Warren’s presidential campaign was her debate evisceration of Bloomberg, something she alluded to on Thursday.

“In this campaign, we have been willing to fight, and, when necessary, we left plenty of blood and teeth on the floor,” Warren said. “And I can think of one billionaire who has been denied the chance to buy this election.”

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title: Warren quits White House race


content_text:
Visits to public libraries in the nation last year exceeded 100 million for the first time, an annual Ministry of Education report said.

That was an increase of 22.83 million visits, or 24.82 percent, from 2018, the report said.

Visitors last year borrowed 81.3 million items, rising 3.39 million, or 4.35 percent, from 2018, it said.

Visitors browse through books at the Yan-Shui Branch of Hsinchu City’s Cultural Affairs Bureau Library on Tuesday. The bureau’s main library on Dongda Road is to be temporarily closed from March 16 due to renovations.
 Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times

While the number of e-books borrowed last year grew 46.55 percent annually to more than 2.55 million, the number of visitors who checked out printed books also increased 3.98 percent, it said.

Based on the figures, there was no “crowding-out” effect between the two formats, the Department of Lifelong Education said.

On average, Taiwanese last year visited public libraries 4.86 times and borrowed 3.44 items.

As of last year, 16.89 million public library cards had been issued, up from 15.95 million in 2018, it added.

Among the six special municipalities, Taipei last year had the highest percentage of residents with public library cards at 79 percent, followed by Taoyuan with 72 percent, Kaohsiung at 62 percent, Tainan with 60 percent, New Taipei City at 52 percent and Taichung with 45 percent, the report said.

Kaohsiung residents last year visited public libraries an average of 9.76 times, compared with Taipei’s 6.34, New Taipei City’s 5.18, Taoyuan’s 4.98, Taichung’s 4.18 and Tainan’s 3.8, it said.

Taipei residents last year borrowed an average of 4.87 items from public libraries, compared with 4.71 in Taichung, 4.42 in Tainan, 4.34 in Kaohsiung, 2.6 in Taoyuan and 2.59 in New Taipei City, it added.

Continued growth across various indicators demonstrates public libraries’ commitment to promoting their services, as well as a passion for reading, the department said.

The functions of libraries today have gone beyond the scope of traditional services, it said.

Besides lending materials to readers, libraries now also offer a diverse range of services that include events and discussions, it said.

These services allow libraries to be “not only public centers of knowledge and life-long learning, but also become an indispensable part of people’s lives,” it said.

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title: Public library visits surpass 100m for first time: report


content_text:
FOREIGN ASSISTANCE:
 The fund will deploy more technologies developed by NARL to assist its nearly 100 foreign aid projects to help the nation’s allies

The International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) is integrating more technology into its foreign aid programs for diplomatic allies by working with the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL), including a new project to assist Palau in protecting coral reefs.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation was signed between ICDF Secretary-General Timothy Hsiang (項恬毅) and NARL president Wang Yeong-her (王永和) on Thursday.

The two semi-official agencies are affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology respectively.

Taiwan Ocean Research Institute associate research fellow Chen Chien-hsun surveys water conditions off the coast of Palau in September last year.
 Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute

The ICDF promotes nearly 100 foreign aid projects — mainly in public healthcare, environmental protection, disaster prevention and relief, agriculture and food security, information and digital infrastructure — in allied nations every year, it said.

Since 2006, the ICDF has used satellite images relayed by NARL’s National Space Organization in several programs for Central American allies, Hsiang said yesterday, adding that the MOU aims to expand cooperation and increase each agency’s international presence.

For example, the ICDF is helping Honduras improve forest insect management, assisting Nicaragua in improving disaster response times and helping Belize advance urban infrastructure resiliency, he said.

The marine and underwater technologies developed by NARL’s Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI) are to be employed in ICDF’s aid programs for Pacific allies, he said.

For example, the ICDF is helping Palau protect its coral reefs, with TORI members forming a delegation to inspect the corals off the coast of Palau last year, he said.

Cooperation on ocean technology is beginning with Palau because corals are vital to the nation, while ocean conservation has become a global issue, Hsiang said.

At the ICDF’s invitation, TORI associate research fellow Chen Chien-hsun (陳建勳) and National Sun Yat-sen University oceanography professor Keryea Soong (宋克義) last year visited Palau to inspect corals and water conditions, TORI director Wang Chau-chang (王兆璋) said separately.

In addition to aid, the institute’s research vessel, the Legend (勵進), would also be used for survey voyages to more remote waters and data collection, he said.

Partnerships with Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific countries can be expected, he added.

The ICDF also plans to use computing and artificial intelligence technologies developed by NARL to improve information security and household registration systems in allied nations, Hsiang added.

Taiwan maintains formal ties with 15 allies, including four in the Pacific, one in Africa, one in Europe and the rest in Latin America or the Caribbean region.

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title: ICDF, NARL ink MOU to match tech with aid


content_text:
National Communications Commission (NCC) officials are on Thursday next week to meet with representatives from the nation’s Internet service providers (ISPs) and social networks to discuss how to effectively stop dissemination of false information about the COVID-19 outbreak.

“It has come to our attention that certain netizens have taken screen shots of television news, and changed the titles and subtitles, turning them into untrue information about COVID-19. To ensure that this type of information does not disrupt the government’s disease-prevention efforts, mislead and cause panic among the public, we are asking ISPs and social networks to adhere to their ethical guidelines,” the commission said.

“TV stations whose contents have been maliciously edited should quickly offer clarifications to the public and report the acts to the local prosecutors’ office. We will assist television stations in seeking legal remedy,” it said.

“We are also inviting Internet platform operators to come to the commission to jointly discuss the possibility of using digital technology to prevent dissemination of disinformation, such as blocking IP addresses identified as sources of disinformation. We may also request the assistance of operators of data centers,” it added.

The participants would include representatives from Facebook, Line, Google and Yahoo, as well as broadcast media associations and third-party fact-checking institutions, NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said.

In related news, the commission has stopped purchasing phones to be used by people undergoing home isolation as part of disease-prevention efforts, Chen said.

The commission has purchased 3,700 phones, which were equipped with a Chunghwa Telecom app that allows the Central Epidemic Command Center to monitor the whereabouts of people in home quarantine, he said.

There are now about 30,000 people in home quarantine, with each having the app installed on their own mobile phone, so there is no need for the commission to purchase any more, Chen said.

The use of mobile phone data to monitor the whereabouts of individuals is not unconstitutional, as the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) have regulations authorizing access to personal information for legitimate reasons, Chen said.

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title: Virus Outbreak: NCC to hold meeting on fake virus news


title: Virus Outbreak: Government does breath test U-turn

people: 林奕華 蘇貞昌 徐國勇

content_text:
MISUNDERSTANDING?
 Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung said that what he meant was that testing would not be conducted ‘simultaneously’ across the nation

The government yesterday backpedaled on a plan to suspend breath alcohol tests due to fears about the spread of COVID-19, reiterating its “zero tolerance” stance on drunk driving and saying that testing would continue nationwide.

Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) on Thursday told a legislative meeting that to avoid COVID-19 contagion and prevent excessive strain on personnel of the National Police Agency’s Special Police, breath alcohol testing, conducted twice per month, would be suspended.

However, local governments would still conduct “regional” testing at their discretion, he said.

A police officer takes Premier Su Tseng-chang’s temperature before he enters the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: CNA

Hsu’s remarks at the legislature sparked controversy, as they came less than a week after Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told the public that stiffened penalties for drunk driving were taking effect.

Prior to a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday, Su was asked by reporters whether the government would go through with the contentious policy.

There would be no suspension of breath alcohol testing conducted by the central or local governments, which have a “zero tolerance” stance on drunk driving, Su said.

Breath tests would continue, despite the COVID-19 situation, he said, urging people not to add to the government’s already heavy workload by driving under the influence of alcohol during the crisis.

Su later said on Facebook that new regulations targeting drunk drivers went into effect at the beginning of this month.

People whose driver’s license is revoked for drunk driving and obtain a new one would be required to pay for an ignition interlock device to be installed in their vehicle for a year, he said.

Repeat offenders must undergo rehabilitation and 15 hours of courses before they can take another driver’s test, he added, urging people not to try their luck.

At yesterday’s question-and-answer session, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said that Hsu’s remarks had angered many people, because 149 people died last year due to drunk driving, while another 293 died within a month of injuries sustained in an incident.

Hsu said that what he had meant was that breath alcohol testing would not be conducted “simultaneously” across the nation.

The Ministry of the Interior would follow the Executive Yuan’s instructions and ensure that there are no loopholes in efforts by the central and local governments to crack down on drunk driving, he added.

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content_text:
US officials warn Trump of security risks in Infineon’s Cypress takeover

US national security officials are recommending that US President Donald Trump block Infineon Technologies AG’s proposed acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor Corp, people familiar with the matter said.

The officials are concerned that Infineon’s US$8.7 billion deal for the US chipmaker poses a risk to national security, three people familiar with the matter said.

Infineon, a German semiconductor maker with substantial Chinese revenue, has tried to negotiate an agreement with the government that would let the takeover proceed, but has not been able to reach a deal, one of the people said. All of the people asked not to be named discussing a national security matter.

It was not clear why officials with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews foreign takeovers of US businesses, see a national security risk from the deal.

However, the panel is particularly sensitive to any transaction that could allow Chinese buyers to get their hands on advanced US technology.

Cypress shares fell as much as 21 percent earlier before closing down 17.4 percent at US$19.18. The shares dropped an additional 10 percent in extended trading on Thursday.

The committee, which is led by the US Department of Treasury, can recommend the president block deals to protect national security.

The US Congress gave the panel enhanced powers in 2018 to scrutinize foreign investment in US companies.

The Cypress deal would catapult Infineon into the top 10 of global chipmakers based on sales. Infineon derives a third of its sales from China, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

The White House’s National Security Council and Cypress declined to comment. Infineon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The committee as a policy never comments on its reviews.

Infineon last month told investors on an earnings call that it was negotiating a potential settlement for the deal.

“We have a very good understanding about the requirements of US government, what they expect and we are working together with them in order to resolve that,” Infineon chief executive officer Reinhard Ploss said. “Our expectation is that we find a setup, which is supporting our revenue synergies.”

Cypress, based in San Jose, California, sells components to the defense industry, although its products are not considered particularly sensitive.

The company’s Web site highlights several offerings that are either suitable or designed for aerospace and defense customers, including “defense grade memory” parts that can “withstand military operating temperature ranges.”

The Trump administration has toughened its review of foreign acquisitions of US businesses, particularly technology companies. Trump has blocked two takeovers on national security grounds, Broadcom Inc’s hostile takeover of Qualcomm Inc and Lattice Semiconductor Corp’s sale to a Chinese-backed investor.

In 2017, Infineon tried to buy Wolfspeed, a semiconductor unit of US-based Cree Inc, but the deal was blocked by the panel. Wolfspeed manufactures a type of semiconductor increasingly used in telecommunications and radar systems.

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content_text:
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chief executive officer Lisa Su on Thursday said the company would reach revenue growth of 20 percent over the next four years and become more profitable as it reaches that goal.

Gross margin, or the percentage of sales remaining after deducting the cost of production, would rise to more than 50 percent, she said at an investor event at the chipmaker’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters.

AMD maintained its near-term revenue forecast of US$1.8 billion, plus or minus US$50 million, for the first three months of its fiscal year.

While results might be at the lower end of that range and demand from consumers in China has weakened, orders elsewhere are in line with expectations, helped by demand for data center chips, Su said.

The company also stuck by its prediction that sales would increase 28 percent to 30 percent this year.

Su is talking to investors who want revenue growth and earnings to justify the faith they have shown by bidding up AMD’s stock since she took the top job in 2015.

During her time in charge, AMD has taken on the world’s biggest chipmaker, Intel Corp, in its main markets armed with only a fraction of the resources.

Now, like other chipmakers, it is confronting disruptions to supply and demand caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We’re a much stronger company than we were five years ago,” Su said. “The opportunities are larger.”

AMD’s stock rose 6 percent in extended trading. The shares, which traded at US$2.87 at the end of 2015, closed at US$48.11 on Thursday in New York and have doubled in the past 12 months. AMD was the best performer on the S&P 500 Index last year.

The computer industry’s supply chain is rapidly recovering to typical levels of activity, Su said, adding that AMD’s suppliers in China, Taiwan and Malaysia are almost back to full output.

Other technology companies have scrapped guidance or lowered forecasts for the current period.

AMD has targeted double-digit market share in servers by the middle of this year, trying to reclaim a meaningful position in that lucrative market after dropping to less than 1 percent.

Server computers are the backbone of corporate networks and the giant data centers that run the Internet. Chips that power them can cost more than US$10,000 each.

While manufacturing difficulties at Intel have made it vulnerable to a reinvigorated range of offerings from AMD, any shifts in the market have yet to cause the bigger company discomfort.

Intel’s server chip unit grew 19 percent in the fourth quarter and revenue from cloud-service providers, which offer computing power and storage through the Web, surged 48 percent. Its data center business earns more revenue in a quarter than AMD generates in year.

Both companies have benefited from strong demand for personal computers.

Global PC shipments rose 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as companies upgraded to a new version of Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system, research firm Gartner Inc said.

AMD has an even greater ability to cash in on the trend as it is also the second-largest maker of chips used in computer graphics cards.

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title: AMD bullish on revenue


content_text:
The latest edition of US-based non-governmental organization Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report ranks Taiwan as the second-freest nation in Asia, with a total score of 93 points, the same as last year.

Taiwan garnered 37 out of 40 points in political rights and 56 of 60 in civil liberties, and maintained its “free” rating, the democracy watchdog’s Web site showed.

The report is to be published on Wednesday next week in Washington. It designates nations and territories as “free,” “partly free” and “not free” based on political rights and civil liberties.

Taiwan was second only to Japan (96 points) in Asia and ranked 25th among 195 nations and 15 territories assessed, the Web site showed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the ranking proves that Taiwan’s adherence to the values of democracy, freedom and human rights is recognized by the international community.

The ministry said that it would continue to work with like-minded countries to promote these values, and contribute to democracy and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide.

While the latest narrative on Taiwan was not yet available, last year’s report described the nation as a “vibrant and competitive” democracy that has allowed peaceful transfers of power between rival parties since 2000.

In a prelaunch news release on Thursday, Freedom House said the state of political rights and civil liberties worldwide is deteriorating.

“Countries that suffered setbacks in 2019 outnumbered those making gains by nearly two to one, marking the 14th consecutive year of deterioration in global freedom,” it said.

The report also found a global erosion in government commitment to pluralism.

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title: Taiwan second-freest nation in Asia, report says