content_text:
Contract electronics maker Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦) reported that revenue last month dropped 27.31 percent from a year earlier to NT$39.51 billion (US$1.32 billion), with laptop shipments falling more than 30 percent to 1.6 million units.

The decline was mainly due to an extended Lunar New Year holiday and production disruptions at its factories in China because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Revenue in the first two months of this year plunged 18.64 percent year-on-year to NT$101.27 billion, Compal said on Monday, adding that production in China has resumed to varying degrees.

Rival maker Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) also saw revenue decline 21.74 percent from a year earlier to NT$49.19 billion, with laptop shipments falling more 40 percent to 1.1 million units due to production disruptions in China.

Quanta has since the fourth quarter of 2018 been shifting production from China to a plant in New Taipei City and has started setting up manufacturing facilities in Thailand.

Wistron Corp (緯創) last month saw its revenue contract 21.09 percent year-on-year to NT$44.86 billion, with laptop shipments dropping 15 percent to 850,000 units.

The firm also saw a double-digit decline in shipments of desktops, while server shipments remained stable, it said yesterday.

Having already resumed about 60 percent of its Chinese production, the company said it expects to reach full production by the end of this month.

Wistron, which also assembles older models of Apple Inc’s iPhone in India, said that production in the country remains largely intact.

Another Apple supplier, Pegatron Corp (和碩), which is reportedly to produce a next generation iPhone SE, fared better than its peers, with sales last month inching up 0.2 percent annually to NT$81.8 billion.

The company’s main manufacturing site in Shanghai has seen production mostly spared by the coronavirus, while its Kunshan plant has since recovered more than 60 percent of production, market watchers said.

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title: Holiday, virus affect Compal sales


title: Taiwan to be fourth nation to have Google Play Points

content_text:
Taiwan is to be the fourth nation after Japan, South Korea and the US to enjoy Google Play Points, a reward program that allows users to earn reward points, Google Taiwan announced yesterday.

The program allows “the entire ecosystem of Google Play to take root,” while developers can also use the reward system to drive downloads and exposure of their apps, Google Taiwan general manager Tina Lin (林雅芳) told an online media event.

Google Play Points is a way of giving customers a chance to earn credits on purchases they make in the Google Play store, the company said.

Google Taiwan general manager Tina Lin and Google Play product marketing manager Liu Ming-wei pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: CNA

The points earned can be used for discounts or special items and content in apps and games, it said.

A points-based reward system is a common practice in the general retail market and is a strategy used by many businesses to help boost customer loyalty, Lin said.

Taiwan is Google Play’s fifth-biggest market in the world, hence the reason for launching the reward program in the nation, she said.

It has a developed consumer market and there is ample demand, she added.

Google Play product marketing manager Liu Ming-wei (劉明維) said that users in Taiwan would get to experience Google Play Points on their mobile devices later this week.

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references: Facebook Twitter

companies: Google Apple

content_text:
Google on Monday began restricting visits to its offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and New York as it ramped up precautions against COVID-19.

The added measure was enacted as word went out that Apple Inc had joined the list of technology firms advising employees to work from home and that a prestigious TED conference scheduled for next month has been delayed to protect the health of attendees.

To reduce novel coronavirus risk, “external/social visits” to some Google offices have been restricted, and all job interviews are to be “virtual” instead of face-to-face for the foreseeable future, a Google spokesperson said.

Google was already among technology firms — including Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc — that have given employees the option of working from home instead of going to the office.

Over the weekend, Apple told employees at most of its offices worldwide that they can work from home this week, according to an internal memo reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Axios Systems.

Twitter Inc staff worldwide were asked to work from home starting on Monday in an effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic.

Google last week canceled its major annual gathering of software developers amid virus concerns.

The Internet giant said that it nixed the festival-like event Google I/O event scheduled for May a short distance from the Googleplex in Mountain View, California.

The annual conference typically attracts thousands of developers from around the world to mingle with one another and with engineers from the Internet company on ways to synchronize software and services to its array of offerings.

It joined a growing list of global events that have been canceled as the virus spreads worldwide. A game developers’ conference in San Francisco was postponed and Facebook has canceled its F8 developers’ conference, the biggest annual event for the US tech giant, due to virus worries.

Like Google I/O, Facebook F8 in San Jose, California, typically draws throngs of software makers from around the world who collaborate with the tech giant on its platform. Face-to-face interaction would be replaced with online presentations.

A TED conference slated to take place in Vancouver next month was postponed until late July after a majority of attendees voted to delay the real-world gathering instead of replacing it with streamed presentations, organizers said on Monday.

The annual gathering, renowned for exploring “ideas worth spreading,” typically attracts the brilliant, influential and accomplished and is a stage for the popular “TED Talks” made available free online.

The major annual South By Southwest cultural conference slated to take place in Austin, Texas, was also canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

Separately, US aviation giant Boeing Co on Monday said that one of its factory workers had tested positive for COVID-19 — the company’s first known case.

The employee works at the company’s Everett factory near Seattle in Washington state, one of the areas most affected by the virus outbreak in the US. The facility assembles Boeing’s 777 and 787 airliners.

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title: Google restricting visits to offices to suppress virus risk


title: Virus Outbreak: Online mask purchases to commence tomorrow

people: 陳時中 陳宗彥

content_text:
Orders for online mask purchases can be placed starting tomorrow, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, one day after it announced it was testing an online system for buying masks.

People would be able to order their weekly ration of masks online and pick up their purchase at convenience stores, in addition to the options of buying them at National Health Insurance (NHI)-contracted pharmacies or public health centers, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who is also head of the center.

People would need their NHI card or Citizen Digital Certificate to log on to the system, or use the National Health Insurance Administration’s mobile app (全民健保行動快易通) to order masks, Chen said, without specifying the Web site that is to be used for the orders.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, unveils the government’s new mask policy at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

The first round of orders, from tomorrow to Wednesday next week, would serve as a trial run for the program, he said.

People who place an order during that period would be sent a confirmation text message to their cellphone with payment instructions, and once they have paid through automatic teller machines (ATM), Internet banking or credit cards online, they would be able to pick up their orders between March 26 and April 1, he said.

Each mask costs NT$5 and a handling fee of NT$7 would be charged per order, he said.

“People do not have to worry about having to ‘snap up’ masks as if they are buying tickets,” Chen said.

People would need to present their confirmation text message, along with either their NHI card, national identification card or driver’s license, to pick up their masks, the CECC said.

Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said if the number of orders in the first round exceeds the number of masks allocated for the online sales, a lottery would be held to determine who would get the masks.

The Executive Yuan launched a rationing policy on Feb. 6, restricting Taiwanese and foreign residents to buying masks at NHI-contracted pharmacies or public health centers with their NHI cards or Alien Resident Certificates, with a weekly ration of three masks for adults and five masks for children.

The CECC found that many younger people with daytime jobs were unable to buy masks because they were not able to take the time to line up at pharmacies, so they decided to expand the purchase methods, Wang said.

However, the number of masks sold at pharmacies would remain the same, he said.

Packaging of masks would be done at distribution centers prior to shipping to the four major convenience store brand outlets, he added.

The real-name mask purchasing system would be reviewed weekly and modified if necessary to meet the public’s needs, Wang said.

In other developments, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) yesterday said that starting today, people placed under mandatory home quarantine upon arrival at the nation’s airports would be fined if they take public transportation to reach their homes or if they travel by a method other than what they had told authorities.

The move came after the CECC on Wednesday last week launched an airport-to-home transport service for people subject to mandatory home quarantine.

Those who take public transportation could be fined between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million (US$3,329 and US$33,293), and between NT$10,000 and NT$150,000 if they return home by a method other than the one they reported, Chen Tsung-yen said.

The transport service was used by 24 percent of those placed under home quarantine the first day it was offered, and by Monday the number had increased to 39 percent, he said.

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title: Barnes, Vardy fire Foxes past woeful Villa

content_text:
Brendan Rodgers on Monday said that he hopes Leicester City can kick on from a confidence-boosting 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa, thanks to doubles from Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy, and secure a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

The Foxes had won just one of their previous seven English Premier League games, but remain in third and restored an eight-point advantage over fifth-placed Manchester United in the battle for a top-four finish.

“The last few games we haven’t been at our level. In terms of attacking, we were much better this evening. After the first goal we went on and played very well,” Leicester manager Rodgers said. “Early on you could see our confidence wasn’t where it has been. The only way you regain that confidence is hard work and these players have been brilliant.”

Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes, left, scores against Aston Villa in their Premier League match at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, England, on Monday.
 Photo: Reuters

The defeat left Villa rooted in the relegation zone and there was little from the visitors to suggest they can save themselves in the final 10 matches of the season.

No side has conceded more goals in the Premier League this season than Villa and it was easy to see why as Leicester passed up a host of simple chances early on from poorly defended set-pieces.

“We started the game quite well, but then we didn’t defend corners well enough and we had a big mistake for the [first] goal,” Villa manager Dean Smith said. “Individual mistakes are costing us. We need to get better.”

Pepe Reina was a spectator when Villa stunned Leicester to reach the EFL Cup final in January and Dean Smith’s decision to recall the Spaniard in place of Orjan Nyland backfired for the opening goal five minutes before halftime.

The former Liverpool goalkeeper raced well outside his penalty area, but was beaten to the ball by the pace of Barnes, who kept his cool to fire into an unguarded net.

Kelechi Iheanacho then missed a great chance to double Leicester’s lead early in the second half and the Nigerian might find himself back on the sidelines in the weeks to come as Vardy refound his scoring touch.

The former England striker started on the bench as he returned from injury and had only been on the pitch four minutes when he grabbed his first goal in 10 games from the penalty spot after Tyrone Mings was adjudged to have handled a Barnes cross.

Vardy was back in the groove and doubled his tally 11 minutes from time when he found space at Reina’s near post to move two goals clear in the race for the Golden Boot.

“The injury over seven or eight weeks had curtailed him, but his running and movement were back to what we are used to from him,” Rodgers said of his top scorer. “He got his reward for his hard work.”

Barnes then smashed home his second of the evening from Marc Albrighton’s low cross.

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content_text:
IMPORTED?
 One of the new cases is a man who visited the Netherlands on a business trip last week and a contact investigation has been launched to trace his movements

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday confirmed two new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 47 in Taiwan.

One of the new cases is a relative of a previous case and the other is a man who tested positive after returning from a business trip to the Netherlands, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.

The former is a man in his 20s living in northern Taiwan, who is the son of the nation’s 34th case and the brother of the nation’s 41st case, and had tested negative twice after his mother was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Feb. 28, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.

The man had a cough from Friday to Sunday while he was under mandatory home isolation, and as the coughing became worse, he was hospitalized and tested positive in his third test, Chuang said.

With the man’s inclusion, the cluster of cases surrounding the nation’s 34th case, including her relatives, hospital nurses and a janitor, as well as other patients in the hospital and their relatives, has risen to eight people.

The other new case is a man in his 30s living in southern Taiwan who visited the Netherlands from Monday to Thursday last week, Chuang said.

On Monday this week, the man developed a mild fever and coughing, sought medical help the same day and tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, Chuang added.

The patient has been hospitalized in a negative pressure isolation ward for treatment and a contact investigation has been launched, Chuang said.

Separately, Chen confirmed that two charter flights, operated by China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and China Eastern Airlines Corp (中國東方航空), were to bring more than 400 Taiwanese home from Wuhan, China, last night.

The first charter flight, which brought back 247 Taiwanese from Wuhan on Feb. 3, sparked controversy, as the passengers were not selected according to the government’s request that vulnerable people be allowed to leave first, no disease-prevention measures were taken during the flight and a passenger who had a fever upon arrival later tested positive for COVID-19.

The CECC had halted evacuation flights until officials prioritized vulnerable people and took disease-prevention measures.

Chen yesterday said that four doctors and nine nurses would be on board the China Airlines flight, and masks and protective clothing have been prepared for the passengers.

Since the first evacuation flight, capacity at quarantine centers has risen from about 600 people to more than 1,000, space planning has been modified and the nation’s COVID-19 testing capacity has increased from about 300 to 500 people per day to more than 3,000, he said.

Officials from Taiwan and China have acknowledged the risk of virus transmission during flight, Chen said, adding that only people who test negative for COVID-19 would be allowed to board the planes.

The two flights would land at least three hours apart to give quarantine officials sufficient time to screen the passengers for symptoms and take disinfection measures, Chen said.

Evacuees who do not show symptoms would be taken to a quarantine center for 14-day isolation, he added.

The center would publish the details once all the passengers have safely returned home, Chen said.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Two new virus cases bring total to 47


title: SPORTS BRIEFS

content_text:
BOXING

Huang, Wu seal Tokyo spots

Taiwan’s Huang Hsiao-wen and Wu Shih-yi on Monday advanced to the semi-finals of the Asia/Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Jordan, earning their berths at this year’s Olympics in Tokyo. Huang, the gold medalist at last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships, defeated Tursunoy Rakhimova of Uzbekistan 4-1 in the flyweight category at Prince Hamzah Sport Hall in Amman. Wu overpowered Riza Pasuit of the Philippines 5-0 in the lightweight category to also advance to the semis. The two women joined fellow Taiwanese Chen Nien-chin and Lin Yu-ting in earning spots at the Summer Games.

SOCCER

Augsburg fire Schmidt

Augsburg on Monday fired Martin Schmidt as coach in a bid to ensure their top-flight survival. The Bundesliga club said assistant coach Stefan Sartori had also left. “It wasn’t an easy decision for us to make. However, after taking only four points from our past nine games, we decided we needed a coaching change,” Augsburg sporting director Stefan Reuter said. “We are in danger of not reaching our goal of survival, which is why we came to this decision.”

SOCCER

FFA cancels qualifiers

Australia would not attempt to put on World Cup qualifiers during the international windows this month and in June, and would instead look to set up other fixtures, Football Federation Australia (FFA) said yesterday. FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation on Monday postponed Asian World Cup qualifying matches this month and in June because of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, they said that matches could go ahead if it was mutually agreed by the member associations and safety standards were met. While sporting fixtures in Australia are proceeding without interruption, the FFA said it would not try and stage home fixtures against Kuwait, Taiwan and Jordan. “Given FFA’s intent to put the health and welfare of all players, coaches, staff, and fans first, FFA will not to pursue qualification matches in March or June 2020,” it said in a statement.

BASEBALL

MLB fixtures to go ahead

MLB regular-season games are expected to proceed as scheduled, the league said on Monday after consulting with all 30 teams amid the global COVID-19 outbreak. “The health and safety of everyone in our communities is of the utmost importance to us,” MLB said in a statement. “While MLB recognizes the fluidity of this rapidly evolving situation, our current intention is to play spring training and regular season games as scheduled.” The MLB on Monday joined three other US professional sporting leagues — Major League Soccer, the NBA and the NHL — in announcing that it would restrict locker-room access to players and “essential staff.”

TENNIS

Miami ready to host event

Organizers of the Miami Open on Monday said that the tournament is set to go ahead, a day after the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. A brief statement released by the Miami Open organizers on Twitter said preparations for the March 23 to April 5 joint ATP and WTA tournament were “moving forward as scheduled.”

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Taoyuan woman fined for spreading disease rumors

A Taoyuan woman was yesterday fined for posting false reports about COVID-19, as the Criminal Investigation Bureau continued to probe cases of people spreading unsubstantiated stories and misinformation about the outbreak.

The 62-year-old woman, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was fined NT$30,000 for posting on Feb. 7 on the messaging app Line that “as of Jan. 27, authorities had quarantined 48 people in Taoyuan suspected of being infected with the Wuhan virus, then added 10 more in the next two days, for a total of 58.”

Hsieh had breached Article 63 of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) by “disseminating rumors or incorrect information concerning epidemic conditions of communicable diseases, resulting in damage to the public or others” and Article 151 of the Criminal Code by endangering “public safety by putting the public in fear of injury to life, body, or property,” prosecutors said.

Criminal Investigation Bureau First Investigation Corps head Hung Sung-tien speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Monday.
 Photo: CNA

As Hsieh admitted her mistake and showed remorse, prosecutors said they decided not to indict her.

In another case, a Chinese woman, surnamed Liu (劉), who is married to a Taiwanese man and lives in Hualien, allegedly posted a message claiming she overheard a Taipei city councilor saying that “the Wuhan virus outbreak is out of control in Taiwan... People should flee from Taiwan now, because within one week’s time, there will be a total lockdown across Taiwan.”

After questioning, Liu was on Monday referred to Hualien prosecutors and faced pending charges under the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).

Several other cases of disinformation were sourced in China, and are likely online attacks by Chinese netizens or part of a co-ordinated campaign by Chinese cyberarmy units, the bureau said.

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content_text:
Several US lawmakers with backgrounds in medicine have written to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urging him to invite Taiwan to attend WHO activities and meetings.

“I joined 15 other Congressional doctors in writing to @WHO urging the inclusion of Taiwan in international efforts to contain & combat COVID-19,” US Representative Brian Babin said on Twitter on Monday.

Public health should not be political, he said, adding that the exclusion of Taiwan “threatens the health security of all.”

A tweet by US Representative Brian Babin saying that he has joined a call urging the WHO to include Taiwan is pictured yesterday.
 Photo: screen grab from Twitter

The 16 lawmakers are affiliated with the GOP Doctors Caucus of the US House of Representatives.

They on Friday last week wrote to Tedros to express their “deep concern” at the WHO’s continued marginalization of Taiwan amid the global COVID-19 outbreak.

The exclusion of Taiwan from the WHO during the epidemic “has put people in Taiwan and around the world at greater risk while harming both the integrity of the WHO and the security of member states,” they said in the letter.

Noting that the coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on human life worldwide, they said: “While much of the loss of life has been contained to the Chinese mainland, one of the few lives lost abroad was that of a Taiwanese man, and we wonder whether this could have been prevented had Taiwan not been excluded from the WHO.”

“Leaving any one region out of the global health network creates a gap that undermines global public health and safety, and we believe Taiwan’s exclusion thus far has been an egregious handicap to the WHO and its member states’ health security,” the letter said.

“Furthermore, considering Taiwan’s proximity to the virus’ origin, both its inclusion in the WHO and attendance at World Health Assembly meetings are vital to the promotion of multilateral cooperation in the region,” it said.

The lawmakers asked Tedros to invite Taiwan to attend all WHO meetings, mechanisms and activities, including the 73rd World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 17 to 21.

“Pandemics such as COVID-19 know no borders, and only by working alongside all our global partners may we eliminate this threat and ensure the integrity of global public health,” the letter said.

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title: Virus Outbreak: US lawmakers call for WHO to include Taiwan


content_text:
By Chen Yu-hsun and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Photographic Society of Taipei has won first place in last year’s World Cup for Clubs held by the International Federation of Photographic Art, making Taiwan the first Asian nation to win the championship since its inception in 2001.

The federation is the only international photography organization recognized by UNESCO, society chairman Chiang Che-ho (江哲和) said on Sunday, adding that the group was thrilled to have received the top honor.

In 2018, the society won third place, then the highest place won by an Asian nation, and this year’s victory was a new record, he said.

The Photographic Society of Taipei’s winning photographs are seen in this screen grab taken from its official site on Sunday.
 Photo: chen Yu-hsun, Taipei Times

Taiwan’s team — 20 photographers from the society, including Chang Ming-chih (張明芝), Chen Te-yun (陳德芸) and Chi Kuo-chin (齊國秦) — was among 207 photography groups from 48 nations at the event, Chiang said.

Society member Yang Ya-ting (楊雅婷) won an individual silver medal, while Chen Feng-lin (陳豐麟) earned an honorable mention, he said.

The federation’s electronic magazine, published last month, featured the club’s winning works, as well as those of the top 10 individual award winners from 4,118 submissions, he added.

An award ceremony and exhibition are scheduled for April 25 in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, but the society does not plan to attend due COVID-19, Chiang said.

Since its founding in 1956, the society has had more than 10,000 members and cultivated talented people in the arts and cultural circles through workshops, competitions, exhibitions and lectures, he said.

The society is honored to raise Taiwan’s global profile in the face of its diplomatic challenges, Chiang said.

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title: Taipei photography society wins top prize at World Cup


title: Panthers pick off Blues to close on final playoff spot

content_text:
Brett Connolly on Monday scored early in the third period and Chris Driedger stopped 26 shots as the Florida Panthers defeated the St Louis Blues 2-1.

Mike Hoffman also scored for Florida and Aleksi Saarela assisted on both goals for the Panthers, the first assists of his career. He has played in nine games.

“He had an incredible night. Two apples from him,” Driedger said of Saarela. “I joke with him and tell him he’s a goalscorer and he tells me he’s a playmaker. He’s a talented kid and he showed it tonight.”

St Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, right, saves a shot by Aleksi Saarela of the Florida Panthers in their NHL game in St Louis, Missouri, on Monday.
 Photo: AP

Driedger made his third consecutive start after being held out of the lineup for almost two months with a lower-body injury. He is 2-0-1.

Colton Parayko scored for St Louis. Jordan Binnington made 32 saves and fell to 6-2 in his past eight starts.

“I think, you know, we can win these games,” Binnington said. “They’re winnable games, and it’s a time of year where you know you can’t make excuses and you got to find ways to win, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Florida moved within one point of the idle Carolina Hurricanes for the final playoff spot in the East.

Panthers coach Joel Quenneville, who formerly coached the Blues, said he was happy to leave with two points.

“I like it here a lot. You know, I’m happy that they won a championship,” Quenneville said. “They’re a dangerous team. That was a huge two points for us in a real game that that puts us in a good position. This was a game where you handicap it and you would hope to get something out of it. We got two points and that’s huge.”

The Blues entered the game in first place in the Central Division, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, who missed a chance to tie St Louis for first place by falling to a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

St Louis ended a five-game home winning streak and fell to 9-2 in their past 11 games.

“We weren’t that bad in the game,” St Louis coach Craig Berube said. “If we execute on some plays, we probably win the game.”

The Blues swept the Panthers last season and have won 10 of their past 15 against them.

“This obviously was a huge win for our team,” Connolly said. “This is the best time of the year. There is lots of pressure now. You work hard to put yourself to get into the post-season. We’ve got to keep building. Just block out all the noise from everybody, and play our best and see what happens.”

Elsewhere, Dominik Kahun scored in the seventh round of a shoot-out to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals, while Shea Theodore scored in overtime to lift the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 over the Edmonton Oilers in a matchup of the top two teams in the Pacific Division.

Winnipeg native Cody Eakin scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to lead the Jets to a 4-2 comeback win over the Arizona Coyotes.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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content_text:
At first glance, it looks like any other shantytown in Brazil: a precarious jumble of tin-roof shacks and shoddy streets.

However, a closer look reveals a community garden, rainwater harvesting system and environmental education program: This favela is remarkably green.

On the outskirts of Sao Paulo, a concrete jungle of 12 million people, the impoverished community of Vila Nova Esperanca (Village of New Hope) is fighting to be a model of sustainable living.

Community leader Lia de Souza, left, and resident Robson Pereira, center, work in the vegetable garden of Favela Nova Esperanca on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 14.
 Photo: AFP

The driving force behind the green favela is community leader Lia de Souza, elected a decade ago.

An irrepressible woman of 57, she moved here in 2003 to escape an abusive husband.

She soon set about turning the favela into the kind of place she wanted to call home: one where people respect the environment and each other, live sustainably and take care of their community together.

She has fought hard to make that a reality, sometimes against abusive police and authorities.

Creating that home has been an ongoing struggle, but it has earned her the nickname “Lia Esperanca” — “Lia of Hope,” evoking her favela’s optimistic name.

“We have to come together to make this not-so-great place a really great place to live,” she said, giving a tour of the organic garden that she helped create.

She proudly pointed out the wealth of plants in the spice section: thyme, basil, turmeric, lavender and three kinds of mint.

Nearby, papaya trees and banana plants sprouted from the red soil, along with vibrant purple bougainvillea and pink hydrangeas.

“We have all kinds of medicinal plants, too,” said De Souza, showing reporters a greenhouse full of seedlings and the compost used for fertilizer, which has the added benefit of reducing waste.

Vila Nova Esperanca sits an hour from the city center of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s financial center, carved out from the lush forest known as the Mata Atlantica.

The plants and flowers do not stop the community from looking a lot like the rest of the megacity’s 1,650 favelas: Half-finished shacks line the dirt streets, tattered furniture sits outdoors and stray plastic bags drift in the air.

However, the community of 3,000 people has won multiple awards for its environmental programs.

With her bare hands, De Souza picked up fist-fulls of mud and slapped them onto the wall of a brinquedoteca, a children’s center with educational games and toys that she and the community are building.

The mix of clay and cement they are using “is less expensive than bricks and it’s sustainable,” she said, her face smeared with mud.

“When I arrived here, there was nothing,” she said — not even electricity. “Today, we have an amphitheater, a library, a communal kitchen, a pond where the children can swim and the garden, which just keeps growing.”

One of her acolytes, civil engineer Rodrigo Calisto, showed off the stone basin where he has finished building a fish farm with the help of other volunteers.

The tilapia would provide food and eat mosquitoes, Calisto said.

The community has also erected sandbag walls to protect itself from landslides.

Deadly landslides “are a widespread problem in Brazil, because most favelas are built on hillsides,” Calisto said, adding that he has also developed a system to collect and reuse rainwater.

“Nature teaches us how to live,” De Souza said. “You don’t need to go to university.”

De Souza’s grit has sometimes put her on a collision course with authorities.

Several years after moving to the favela, she learned that officials were working to evict its residents, accusing them of building on protected land.

Swallowing her fear, De Souza stood fast with her community on the day that police arrived, as they kicked and pepper-sprayed residents in a failed attempt to evict them.

The city’s Housing and Urban Development Company has offered her money to leave, De Souza said, but she is determined to stay.

Her latest challenge is the end of a municipal grant of 1,050 reals (US$222) per month to pay residents to work on community projects.

The grant has been a godsend for the favela, where one worker in five is unemployed, but it is about to end.

“People who live on the periphery have nothing. It’s going to be hard if the grant ends,” she said. “But we’re not going to stop working.”

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title: Green favela struggles to live sustainably in Brazil


people: 林奕華 蔣萬安

content_text:
KMT caucus blasts Executive Yuan for proposed Spatial Planning Act changes

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday chastised the Executive Yuan for submitting proposals to change the Spatial Planning Act (國土計畫法) amid a global outbreak of COVID-19, saying that the move was aimed at helping corporations secure development projects while evading public scrutiny.

The KMT caucus on Friday last week struck down a motion by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus to advance the proposals to committee review, because it found two planned amendments unacceptable, KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a news conference in Taipei.

One proposed amendment would allow national spatial plans to be revised if the Cabinet approves “major construction projects,” which Chiang said would open up a back door for developers to secure tenders, rendering the act an empty gesture.

The other amendment would indefinitely postpone an April 30 deadline for local governments to submit spatial plans, he said.

Both proposals would encourage unrestrained development of public land under the pretext of major construction projects, which contradicts the spirit of the act, he added.

When the act was passed in 2015, it was hailed as a milestone in environmental protection for classifying land rezoning into national reserves, marine resource areas, agricultural development zones and urban development areas.

It is expected to take effect in 2022, when complementary central and local government plans are completed.

However, many environmentalists were unnerved after the Cabinet last month proposed the amendments.

Former KMT legislator Chiau Wen-yan (邱文彥), who was instrumental in pushing the legislation, said that the act was the culmination of more than two decades of work.

At the time of its passage, lawmakers across party lines agreed that there should not be any clauses that would allow backroom deals, as unlike any previous development-oriented spatial plans, the act approaches spatial planning through an assessment of nature’s capacity, he said.

The proposed amendments represent a step backward, as they ignore the conservation of state-owned land and cannot ensure sufficient farmland for food security, he added.

KMT caucus vice secretary-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) criticized the proposal on major construction projects, saying that it would give the Executive Yuan a “blank check” and would allow developers to benefit via speculative land development.

KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) raised doubts about the Executive Yuan’s intentions behind the proposals, saying that they would greatly relax development rules and could be aimed at benefiting interested parties.

The timing of the proposals was likely aimed at avoiding public scrutiny, as the public’s focus is on preventing the spread of COVID-19, he said.

The KMT caucus would resolutely reject any further attempts to schedule a review of the controversial proposals, he added.

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title: US calls for vote at UN on Taliban deal amid troop exodus

content_text:
The US called for a vote at the UN Security Council yesterday to endorse Washington’s deal with the Taliban in a bid to pave the way to peace in Afghanistan, diplomats said.

The US military has begun withdrawing troops as part of the pullout agreed in the Feb. 29 agreement with the Taliban.

The request for a UN vote came after difficult negotiations that began a week ago, diplomats said on Monday.

China requested in the last draft — already revised three times — that the resolution mention “regional cooperation,” the sources said.

The resolution comes amid a series of institutional crises in Afghanistan, following the double swearing in on Monday of President Ashraf Ghani, and his rival and former Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, both of whom have claimed victory in the country’s presidential election.

According to the draft text, the Security Council “urges the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to advance the peace process, including by participating in intra-Afghan negotiations through a diverse and inclusive negotiating team composed of Afghan political and civil society leaders, including women.”

The US’ request that the Security Council adjust its agreement with the Taliban is a rare move in the forum for an accord between a foreign country and an insurgent group, diplomats said.

Diplomats were surprised that the agreement included two secret appendices on the fight against terrorism that council members were expected to approve without knowing their content, which one diplomat described as “unbelievable.”

Russia’s position on the resolution remains uncertain.

Moscow had hinted on Friday that it might oppose the text after the US rejected a statement endorsing a ceasefire agreement in Syria between Russia and Turkey.

The US draft on Afghanistan “welcomes” the Feb. 29 pullout deal and “calls upon all states to provide their full support to promoting the successful negotiation of a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreement which ends the war for the benefit of all Afghans.”

Washington’s plan also puts pressure on the Afghan government to engage in negotiations with the Taliban to achieve a “permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.”

Although the first version of the text, released last week, omitted any mention of women, the latest text mentions them several times.

That text, which was to be put to a vote, “emphasizes the importance of the effective and meaningful participation of women, youth and minorities, and affirms that any political settlement must protect the rights of all Afghans, including women, youth and minorities.”

The US resolution also states that the council would be ready to review the status of UN sanctions imposed in 2011 “in order to support the peace process.”

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title: Biden, Sanders seek votes in key US primary

content_text:
BEST BET?
 Former Democratic US presidential hopefuls Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bloomberg have endorsed former US vice president Joe Biden, a moderate

Democratic presidential hopeful former US vice president Joe Biden, surging in the polls and with several weighty endorsements in his pocket, and rival US Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday hit the campaign trail in Michigan on the eve of a primary vote in the key battleground state.

Biden, 77, was joined at an event in Flint, Michigan, by US Senator Cory Booker just hours after the one-time US presidential hopeful announced that he was throwing his support behind Biden.

“This could be the turning point not just of a primary campaign,” Booker said. “This could be the day we turned a whole nation around.”

A campaign worker offers hand sanitizer at a rally with Democratic presidential hopeful former US vice president Joe Biden at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday.
 Photo: AFP

Michigan is the biggest prize of six states that were to hold primaries on Tuesday to decide on a Democratic candidate to face Republican incumbent US President Donald Trump in November’s US presidential election.

Speaking at the event with Booker in Flint, Biden said that Michigan “is an important contest not just for the Democratic primary. The outcome of Michigan in November may determine who the next president of the United States is going to be.”

“We’re not looking for a revolution,” Biden said in a jab at Sanders, the 78-year-old senator who is a self-described democratic socialist.

Democratic presidential hopeful former US vice president Joe Biden greets supporters as he leaves a campaign rally at Renaissance High School in Detroit, Michigan, on Monday.
 Photo: AFP

“What we ought to be able to do is trust the water that comes out of the pipes,” Biden said in a reference to a drinking water pollution crisis gripping Flint for the past six years.

On Monday, Sanders was campaigning in Detroit, Michigan, where he held a roundtable with experts on COVID-19, criticizing Trump’s handling of the virus crisis.

“Donald Trump does not have a natural ability to understand the coronavirus, and his reckless statements are confusing people in this country and all over the world,” Sanders said.

Booker, the charismatic former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, who dropped out of the race in January, is the latest prominent African-American politician to back Biden’s bid for the White House, his third, following unsuccessful runs in 1988 and 2008.

US Senator Kamala Harris, who ended her campaign for the nomination in December last year, also endorsed Biden.

Booker and Harris, both touted as possible vice presidential picks for Biden, joined him for a “Get Out the Vote” rally in Detroit on Monday evening.

Biden has surged since scoring a decisive victory in the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29, with endorsements from key African-American leaders helping him claim the frontrunner mantle in the race.

Former Democratic candidates Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bloomberg and Beto O’Rourke have also swung behind Biden, seeing a moderate as having the best chance of defeating Trump.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who last week dropped out of the race and has a sizeable following on the left, has yet to decide whether to endorse Biden or Sanders.

Tuesday’s primaries were to be the first one-on-one duel between Biden and Sanders since all of the other major candidates dropped out of the grueling nomination battle that began more than a year ago.

Besides Michigan, Democrats were also to vote in Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington.

Michigan is shaping up as a must win for Sanders, who narrowly won the state over former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton during his failed 2016 bid for the Democratic nomination.

However, the latest polls for Michigan have Biden with a lead of 15 to 20 points.

The latest Missouri poll has Biden up there by nearly 19 points, while he leads Sanders by a narrow two-point margin in Washington.

Sanders, desperate to reboot his campaign after losing 10 of the 14 states that voted on Super Tuesday last week, canceled plans to speak in Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois so that he could focus on Michigan.

Sanders on Sunday gained the endorsement of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Jackson said he was repaying Sanders for having supported his 1988 bid for the White House.

“I stand with Bernie Sanders today because he stood with me,” Jackson said. “I stand with him because he stands with you.”


content_text:
IMF calls for ‘substantial,’ united stimulus measures

The IMF on Monday called on governments worldwide to join forces and roll out aggressive financial supports for the virus-affected global economy, including direct payments to workers and businesses.

However, while several nations have taken steps to cushion the blow to their economies and boost confidence, including the US, there has been little visible coordination among policymakers like there was at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis.

The rising concern about the global economy has been reflected in the continued collapse of global stock markets, with trillions in value wiped out in the past few weeks, a rout that continued on Monday. Oil prices have also collapsed.

IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath speaks at a briefing during the IMF and World Bank fall meetings in Washington on Oct. 15 last year.
 Photo: AFP

Given the “acute shocks” caused to economies, consumers and businesses, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said that “policymakers will need to implement substantial targeted fiscal, monetary and financial market measures to help affected households and businesses.”

That includes “cash transfers, wage subsidies and tax relief,” as well as interest rate cuts and financial market support by central banks.

Given the ties between global economies, “the argument for a coordinated, international response is clear,” she said in a blogpost.

The IMF already warned that the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak would slow growth in the world economy to less than the 2.9 percent posted last year.

The virus has shuttered factories, disrupted travel, delayed conferences and sporting events and infected more than 110,000 people worldwide.

The impact effects are seen in production cuts hitting companies across the globe that depend on parts from China, where the outbreak originated, but would also hit consumption, as people are reluctant to go out and spend money.

Some nations have already taken steps, Gopinath said.

Italy, the country hardest hit in Europe, has extended tax deadlines and is preparing a 7.5 billion euro (US$8.53 billion) package aimed at helping out the devastated tourism industry and other sectors, while South Korea has introduced wage subsidies.

The US Federal Reserve last week announced an emergency interest rate cut and on Monday significantly increased its cash injections into money markets with US$150 billion per day in short-term loans to ensure ample liquidity amid the virus uncertainty.

That was just what Gopinath called for, saying that such moves “can lift confidence and support financial markets.”

She added that “actions by large central banks [are] also generating favorable spillovers for vulnerable countries.”

However, government spending measures to support economic activity have been slow in coming and economists are warning that rapid action is crucial to have the biggest effect.

Germany announced a 3 billion euro per year investment package, but it does not go into effect until next year and is spread over three years.

US President Donald Trump has signed a bill with US$8 billion in emergency funding, but that largely goes to medical equipment, medication and testing supplies for state and local governments.

White House advisers were reportedly preparing a menu of options for Trump that include paid sick leave and emergency help for small businesses.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for EU leaders to hold a videoconference yesterday aimed at coordinating their response to the coronavirus outbreak on the continent.

Gopinath said that governments can help workers who are laid off by business closures by extending and increasing unemployment insurance, as well as helping those that do not have paid sick leave.

The economic concerns can ripple into financial markets, causing borrowing costs to rise, which would in turn “expose financial vulnerabilities that have accumulated during years of low interest rates, leading to a heightened risk that debt cannot be rolled over,” she said.

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content_text:
Prince Andrew refuses to cooperate in Epstein inquiry, prosecutor says

Britain’s Prince Andrew has “completely shut the door” on cooperating with US investigators in the Jeffrey Epstein case and they are now “considering” further options, a New York prosecutor said on Monday.

Andrew was a friend of Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender whose death in custody while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in New York last year was ruled a suicide.

Andrew has denied all claims of sexual misconduct relating to the Epstein case, but has stepped back from public duties as a result of his connection to it.

Britain’s Prince Andrew arrives to attend a church service at St Mary the Virgin Church in Hillington, England, on Jan. 19.
 Photo: AFP

Speaking to reporters, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said that “contrary to Prince Andrew’s very public offer to cooperate with our investigation into Epstein’s coconspirators, an offer that was conveyed via press release, Prince Andrew has now completely shut the door on voluntary cooperation and our office is considering its options.”

In November last year, Andrew said that he was “willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations if required.”

Berman made a similar claim in January, which former sex crimes prosecutors told the Guardian was most likely a move designed to win political support for the investigation.

Buckingham Palace said then that it would not comment and the matter was being dealt with by the prince’s legal team.

Contacted on Monday, a palace spokeswoman said: “The issue is being dealt with by the Duke of York’s legal team.”

Buckingham Palace has consistently refused to reveal any details of Andrew’s legal team, but the duke has reportedly hired Clare Montgomery, a senior barrister at Matrix Chambers, whose clients have included former Chilean president Augusto Pinochet and Shrien Dewani, charged with and acquitted of murdering his wife in South Africa.

She also prosecuted the Metropolitan police over the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, shot dead in a failed anti-terror operation.

Andrew has been accused of having sex with a young woman provided by Epstein, a claim he categorically denies.

In an interview with the BBC in December last year, the accuser, Virginia Giuffre, now 35, called Andrew’s denial “BS.”

“He knows what happened,” she said. “I know what happened, and there’s only one of us telling the truth, and I know that’s me.”

The Guardian has reported that according to flight logs, Andrew was among nine people on Epstein’s airplane for a trip from the US Virgin Islands to Florida in February 1999.

A lawsuit filed by the US territory’s attorney general in January cites new evidence that Epstein “held captive underage girls” there as recently as 2018.

Montgomery declined to comment to an inquiry from the Guardian.

She is reportedly briefed by Gary Bloxsome, a criminal defense solicitor who has defended British troops against war crime allegations.

It has been reported he was appointed directly by Andrew, although this has not been confirmed by the palace.

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title:
Gadgets for tech giants made
with coerced Uighur labor

content_text:
In a lively Muslim quarter of Nanchang City, a sprawling Chinese factory turns out computer screens, cameras and fingerprint scanners for a supplier to international tech giants such as Apple and Lenovo. Throughout the neighborhood, women in headscarves stroll through the streets, and Arabic signs advertise halal supermarkets and noodle shops.

Yet the mostly Muslim ethnic Uighurs who labor in the factory are isolated within a walled compound that is fortified with security cameras and guards at the entrance.

Their forays out are limited to rare chaperoned trips; they are not allowed to worship or cover their heads; and they must attend special classes in the evenings, former and current workers and shopkeepers in the area said.

The connection between OFILM, the supplier that owns the Nanchang factory, and the tech giants is the latest sign that companies outside China are benefiting from coercive labor practices imposed on the Uighurs, a Turkic ethnic group, and other minorities.

Over the past four years, the Chinese government has detained more than 1 million people from the far west Xinjiang region, most of them Uighurs, in internment camps and prisons where they go through forced ideological and behavioral re-education. China has long suspected the Uighurs of harboring separatist tendencies, because of their distinct culture, language and religion.

When detainees “graduate” from the camps, documents show, many are sent to work in factories. A dozen Uighurs and Kazakhs said they knew people who were sent by the state to work in factories in China’s east, known as inner China — some from the camps, some plucked from their families, some from vocational schools. Most were sent by force, although in a few cases it was not clear if they consented.

Workers are often enrolled in classes where state-sponsored teachers give lessons in Mandarin or politics and “ethnic unity.” Conditions in the jobs vary in terms of pay and restrictions.

At the OFILM factory, Uighurs are paid the same as other workers, but otherwise treated differently, residents of the neighborhood said. They are not allowed to leave or pray — unlike the Hui Muslim migrants also working there, who are considered less of a threat by the Chinese government.

“They don’t let them worship inside,” said a Hui Muslim woman who worked in the factory for several weeks alongside the Uighurs. “They don’t let them come out.”

“If you’re Uighur, you’re only allowed outside twice a month,” a small business owner who spoke with the workers confirmed.

The Associated Press is not disclosing the names of those interviewed near the factory out of concern for possible retribution.

“The government chose them to come to OFILM, they didn’t choose it,” the owner said.

The Chinese government says the labor program is a way to train Uighurs and other minorities and give them jobs. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called concern over possible coerced labor under the program “groundless” and “slander.”

However, experts say that like the internment camps, the program is part of a broader assault on the Uighur culture, breaking up social and family links by sending people far from their homes to be assimilated into the dominant Han Chinese culture.

“They think these people are poorly educated, isolated, backwards, can’t speak Mandarin,” said James Leibold, an associate professor of Chinese ethnic policy at La Trobe University in Melbourne. “So what do you do? You ‘educate’ them, you find ways to transform them in your own image. Bringing them into the Han Chinese heartland is a way to turbocharge this transformation.”

OFILM’s Web site indicates the Xinjiang workers make screens, camera cover lenses and fingerprint scanners. It touts customers including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell, HP, LG and Huawei, although there was no way for the AP to track specific products to specific companies.

Apple’s most recent list of suppliers, published in January last year, includes three OFILM factories in Nanchang. It is unclear whether the specific OFILM factory the AP visited twice in Nanchang supplies Apple, but it has the same address as one listed.

Another OFILM factory is located about 800m away on a different street. Apple did not answer repeated requests for clarification on which factory it uses.

In an e-mail, Apple said its code of conduct requires suppliers to “provide channels that encourage employees to voice concerns.”

It said it interviews the employees of suppliers during annual assessments in their local language without their managers present, and had conducted 44,000 interviews in 2018.

Lenovo confirmed that it sources screens, cameras and fingerprint scanners from OFILM, but said it was not aware of the allegations and would investigate. Lenovo also cited a 2018 audit by the Reliable Business Alliance in which OFILM scored very well.

‘NO EVIDENCE’

All the companies that responded said they required suppliers to follow strict labor standards. LG and Dell said they had “no evidence” of forced labor in their supply chains, but would investigate, as did Huawei. HP did not respond.

OFILM also lists as customers dozens of companies within China, as well as international companies it calls “partners” without specifying what product it offers.

In addition, it supplies PAR Technology, a US sales systems vendor to which it shipped 48 cartons of touch screens last month, according to US customs data obtained through ImportGenius and Panjiva, which track shipping data.

PAR Technology in turn says it supplies terminals to major chains such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Subway.

However, the AP was unable to confirm that products from OFILM end up with the fast-food companies.

McDonald’s said it had asked PAR Technology to discontinue purchases from OFILM while it launches an immediate investigation. PAR Technology also said it would investigate immediately. Subway and Taco Bell did not respond.

A report on March 1 by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute estimated that more than 80,000 Uighurs were transferred from Xinjiang to factories across China between 2017 and last year.

The report said it found “conditions that strongly suggest forced labor” consistent with International Labour Organization definitions.

The AP also reported a year ago that Uighur forced labor was being used within Xinjiang to make sportswear that ended up in the US.

Beijing first sent Uighurs to work in inland China in the early 2000s, as part of a broad effort to push minorities to adopt urban lifestyles and integrate with the Han Chinese majority to tighten political control.

At first, the program targeted young, single women, because the state worried that Uighur women raised in pious Muslim families did not work, had children early and refused to marry Han men.

However, as stories of poor pay and tight restrictions trickled back, police began threatening some parents with jail time if they did not send their children, six Uighurs said.

The program was halted in 2009, when at least two Uighurs died in a brawl with Han workers at a toy factory in Guangdong Province. After peaceful protests in Xinjiang were met with police fire, ethnic riots broke out that killed an estimated 200 people, mostly Han Chinese civilians.

An AP review of Chinese academic papers and state media reports shows that officials blamed the failure of the labor program on the Uighurs’ language and culture. So when the government ramped up the program again after the ascent of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in 2012, it emphasized ideological transformation.

A paper drafted by the head of the Xinjiang statistics bureau in 2014 said the Uighurs’ poor Mandarin made it hard for them to integrate in inner China. It concluded that Xinjiang’s rural minorities needed to be broken away from traditional lifestyles and systematically “disciplined,” “trained” and “instilled with modern values.”

“The local saturated religious atmosphere and the long-time living habits of ethnic minorities are incompatible with the requirements of modern industrial production,” the paper said.

It outlined a need to “slowly correct misunderstandings about going out to choose jobs.”

Before Uighurs were transferred for jobs, they needed to be trained and assessed on their living habits and adoption of corporate culture, the report said.

“Those who fail will not be exported,” it said.

The paper also described government incentives, such as tax breaks and subsidies for Chinese companies to take Uighurs. A 2014 draft contract for Xinjiang workers in Guangdong Province shows the government there offered companies 3,000 yuan (US$431.79) per worker, with an additional 1,000 yuan for “training” each person for no less than 60 class hours. In exchange, companies had to offer “concentrated accommodation areas,” halal canteens and “ethnic unity education and training.”

However, it was a tough sell at a time when Chinese officials were grappling with knifings, bombings and car attacks by Uighurs, fueled by explosive anger at the government’s harsh security measures and religious restrictions. Hundreds died in race-related violence in Xinjiang, both Uighur and Han Chinese.

A labor agent who only gave his surname, Zhang, said he tried brokering deals to send Xinjiang workers to factories in Hangzhou, but finding companies willing to take Uighurs was a challenge, especially in a slowing economy.

“Their work efficiency is not high,” he said.

GOVERNMENT’S CALL

The size of the program is considerable. A November 2017 state media report said Hotan Prefecture alone planned to send 20,000 people over two years to work in inner China.

There they would “realize the dreams of their lives,” the report said.

The Uighurs at OFILM were sent there as part of the government’s labor program, in an arrangement the company’s Web site calls a “school-enterprise cooperative.” OFILM describes the workers as migrants organized by the government or vocational school students on “internships.”

OFILM confirmed it received AP requests for comment, but did not reply.

The AP was unable to get inside the facility, and on one visit to Nanchang, plainclothes police tailed AP journalists by car and on foot. However, posts on the company Web site extol OFILM’s efforts to accommodate their Uighur workers with Mandarin and politics classes six days a week, along with halal food.

OFILM first hired Uighurs in 2017, recruiting more than 3,000 young men and women in Xinjiang. They bring the Uighurs on one or two-year contracts to Nanchang, a southeastern metropolis more than 3,200km from Xinjiang that local officials hope to turn into a tech hub.

OFILM is one of Nanchang’s biggest employers, with half a dozen factory complexes sprinkled across the city and close ties with the state. Investment funds backed by the Nanchang City Government own large stakes in OFILM, corporate filings show. The Nanchang government said that OFILM recruits minorities according to “voluntary selection by both parties” and provides equal pay, along with personal and religious freedom.

OFILM’s Web site says the company “answered the government’s call” and went to Xinjiang to recruit minorities. The Uighurs need training to pull them from poverty and help them “study and improve,” it says.

Mandarin is heavily emphasized, as well as lessons in history and “ethnic unity” to “comprehensively improve their overall quality,” it says. The site features pictures of Uighurs playing basketball on factory grounds, dancing in a canteen and vying in a Mandarin speech competition.

In August last year, when OFILM organized celebrations for Eid Qurban, a major Islamic festival, Uighur employees did not pray at a mosque. Instead, they dressed in orange uniforms and gathered in a basketball court for a show with communist officials called “Love the Motherland — Thank the Party.” An OFILM post said a “Uighur beauty” dazzled with her “beautiful exotic style.”

State media reports portray the Nanchang factory workers as rural and backwards before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) trained them, a common perception of the Uighurs among the Han Chinese.

“The workers’ concept of time was hazy, they would sleep in till whenever they wanted,” a CCP official was quoted as saying in one.

Now, their “concept of time has undergone a total reversal,” he said.

In the reports and OFILM posts, the Uighurs are portrayed as grateful to the CCP for sending them to inner China.

Despite the wan expressions of three OFILM workers from Lop County, a December 2017 report said they gave an “enthusiastic” presentation about how they lived in clean new dormitories “much better than home” and were visited by CCP cadres.

“We were overjoyed that leaders from the Lop County government still come to see us on holidays,” Estullah Ali, one of the workers, was quoted as saying. “Many of us were moved to tears.”

THEY TOOK MY CHILD

Minorities fleeing China describe a far grimmer situation. H., a wealthy jade merchant from Lop County, where OFILM now gets Uighur workers, began noticing the labor transfer program in 2014. That was when state propaganda blaring through television and loudspeakers urged young Uighurs to work in inner China. Officials hustled families to a labor transfer office where they were forced to sign contracts, under threat of land confiscations and prison sentences.

H., identified only by the initial of his last name out of fear of retribution, was worried. The government was not only reviving the labor program, but also clamping down on religion. Acquaintances vanished: Devout Muslims and language teachers, men with beards, women with headscarves.

Toward the end of 2015, when H. greeted his 72-year-old neighbor on the street, the man burst into tears.

“They took my child to inner China to work,” he said.

Months later, H. and his family fled China.

Zharqynbek Otan, a Chinese-born ethnic Kazakh, said that after he was released from an internment camp in 2018, neighbors in his home village also told him their sons and daughters were forced to sign contracts for six month to five years to work at factories near Shanghai. If they ran from the factories, they were warned, they would be taken straight back to internment camps.

Nurlan Kokteubai, an ethnic Kazakh, said during his time in an internment camp, a cadre told him they selected young, strong people to work in inner Chinese factories in need of labor.

“He told us that those young people would acquire vocational skills,” Kokteubai said.

Not all workers are subject to the restrictions at OFILM. One ethnic Kazakh said her brother made power banks in central China for US$571.36 a month and did not take classes.

However, another said two of his cousins were forced to go and work in cold, harsh conditions. They were promised US$428.52 a month, but paid only US$42.85. Though they wanted to quit, four Uighurs who complained were detained in camps after returning to Xinjiang, scaring others.

Uighurs and Kazakhs in exile said it is likely those working in inner China are still better off than those in camps or factories in Xinjiang, and that in the past, some had gone voluntarily to earn money.

A former worker at Jiangxi Lianchuang Electronics, a lens maker in Nanchang, said that the 300 or so Uighurs there were free to enter or leave their compound, although most live in dormitories inside factory grounds.

He and a current worker said they were happy with their working conditions, their salary of about 5,000 yuan a month, and their teachers and Mandarin classes in the evenings.

However, when presented a list of questions in Uighur about the labor transfers, the former Jiangxi Lianchuang worker started to look very nervous.

He asked for the list, then set it on fire with a lighter and dropped it in an ashtray.

“If the Communist Party hears this, then” — he knocked his wrists together, mimicking a suspect being handcuffed. “It’s very bad.”

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content_text:
Global semiconductor fab equipment spending is forecast to recover this year, growing 3 percent from a year earlier to US$57.8 billion (US$1.93 billion), SEMI said yesterday.

Last year, fab equipment spending slumped 7 percent to US$56 billion, it said.

Spending is forecast to plummet 18 percent year-on-year in the first half due to the COVID-19 outbreak, before rebounding in the second half and hitting a new record next year, the trade group said.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has eroded fab equipment spending in China in 2020, prompting downward revisions to the World Fab Forecast report published in November 2019,” SEMI said in a statement.

Despite continuing headwinds from the virus, Chinese equipment spending should grow about 5 percent to more than US$12 billion this year, the organization said.

Next year, spending from China would surge 22 percent annually to US$15 billion, driven by investments by Samsung Electronics Co, SK Hynix Inc, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (長江存儲), it forecast.

Taiwan is expected to be the biggest spender this year, estimated at US$14 billion, mainly due to investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Micron Technology Inc.

However, Taiwan would see its ranking slide to third place next year, with fab equipment spending forecast to drop 5 percent to US$13 billion, it said.

South Korea should see growth of 31 percent to US$13 billion this year, making it the second-largest fab equipment spender, SEMI said.

Samsung and SK Hynix would be the biggest contributors to the expansion, SEMI said.

South Korea is expected to surpass Taiwan and become the top spender next year, with fab equipment spending climbing 26 percent year-on-year, it said.

Southeast Asia, mainly Singapore, is expected to register a robust growth of 33 percent year-on-year to US$2.2 billion this year, it said.

The region is expected to grow 26 percent next year, SEMI said.

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title: Fab equipment spending to see mild recovery: SEMI


content_text:
CLEAN SWEEP:
 Sales of household cleaning and personal hygiene products, as well as gaming gear and fitness equipment, drove the surges for Momo.com and PChome

E-commerce operators yesterday posted record-high revenue for last month as consumers increasingly turned to online shopping sites due to fears over a global COVID-19 outbreak.

Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體), the nation’s largest online retailer, posted record-high revenue of NT$4.95 billion (US$164.8 million) for last month, a 39.95 percent year-on-year increase.

The company, which also broadcasts TV shopping channels and distributes mail catalogues, said that sales on its online shopping platform soared 47.5 percent year-on-year and made up more than 90 percent of its total revenue.

Momo attributed the strong growth to the spread of COVID-19, which led to consumers increasing their online purchases, especially household cleaning and personal hygiene products.

As consumers avoided eating out, sales of food and beverages also increased, it said.

Overall, sales of household goods increased 81 percent year-on-year, while sales of cosmetics and health products rose 49 percent, the company said.

Momo also saw a 43 percent increase in sales of consumer electronics, driven by robust demand for laptops as students returned to school last month.

Meanwhile, rival PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) also posted record-high revenue of NT$3.52 billion for last month, a 26.98 percent increase year-on-year.

The company said that the coronavirus outbreak led to a sharp increase in sales of antimicrobial agents and other cleaning products.

The top three keyword searches across PChome’s shopping platforms last month were “masks,” “tissue paper” and “wet wipes,” the company said, adding that “rubbing alcohol” and “hand sanitizer” were also in the top 10.

With consumers spending more time at home, sales of gaming products, fitness equipment and air purifiers also increased, it said.

The same phenomenon was also observed by smaller online retailers such as Kuobrothers Corp (創業家兄弟), which posted record-high revenue of NT$415.5 million for last month, a 55.24 percent year-on-year increase.

Sales of wearable devices increased, as did sales of perfume and other popular Valentine’s Day gift items, the company said.

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title: Online retailers post record revenues on virus fears


content_text:
FDC International Hotels to distribute NT$2.5 in cash and stock dividends

FDC International Hotels Corp (雲品國際) yesterday unveiled plans to distribute NT$2.5 per share in cash and stock dividends based on earnings per share of NT$2.8 last year.

The dividends consist of NT$1 in cash and NT$1.5 in stock, the company said.

The New Taipei City-based hotel and restaurant operator reported that net income last year softened 13 percent year-on-year to NT$184 million (US$6.13 million).

Increasing competition in the banquet business accounted for the profit slowdown, especially for facilities in New Taipei City and Taoyuan, the company said, adding that a corporate bond issuance also elevated interest expenditure.

The company reported NT$121.61 million in revenue for last month, a 32.1 percent retreat from a year earlier, as the effects of a global COVID-19 outbreak became evident.

For the first two months of this year, cumulative revenue totaled NT$447.14 million, down 8.95 percent annually, company data showed.

FDC said that it business remained relatively resilient among its peers amid the outbreak because it made quick adjustments, and offered discounted rates for guest rooms and restaurants.

For example, Palais de Chine (君品酒店) cut its rates to support occupancy, it said.

The company said that it is conservative about first-quarter earnings, but forecast a solid improvement once the coronavirus outbreak is brought under control.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Students fight virus with Lego alcohol dispenser

Students at an elementary school in Kaohsiung have found their own unique way to fight the COVID-19 outbreak and stay ahead of the curve in epidemic prevention — an automated disinfectant dispenser built from Lego.

Children ranging from six to 12 years old use every school break and any chance they can get to line up to use their self-built alcohol disinfectant robot, which some of their peers have assembled under the guidance of their robotics coach.

“Washing hands is super,” a recorded voice says after the dispenser senses a pair of hands in front of its ultrasonic sensor and dispenses alcohol disinfectant from a spray bottle by pulling back its handle with a motor and gearwheel mechanism.

A student uses a self-built motion-controlled disinfectant dispenser assembled with Lego parts in Kaohsiung on Monday.
 Photo: Reuters / Fabian Hamacher

Next to the robot, there are scenes crafted by younger students showing various situations that require the washing of hands: an operating table in a hospital, a toilet and a garden.

One year after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan in 2011, teachers at the Linyuan Elementary School decided that the students should learn about the basic principles of robotics.

The school is situated in an industrial area, dominated by the petrochemical sector.

Teachers said they wanted to teach the children how to solve problems in their hometown — such as fire, air pollution and gas explosions.

Since then, the school has represented the nation in many international competitions abroad and won several prizes with its robotics club.

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title: Trump feels the heat as coronavirus stalks US

content_text:
US ANXIETY:
 US President Donald Trump has not been tested for COVID-19, the White House said, although he met with lawmakers who have gone into self-quarantine

Concern that US President Donald Trump himself could be exposed to COVID-19 through contact with two US Republican lawmakers loomed on Monday as US stocks plummeted, feeding growing national anxiety.

Trump, who flew back to Washington after a weekend of golfing at his Florida resort and having dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has spent weeks dismissing the seriousness of the threat.

However, after an emergency meeting with administration staff, he told journalists that he was to propose “very substantial” economic measures to the US Congress yesterday.

US Representative Matt Gaetz descends from Air Force One following a trip to Florida at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Monday.
 Photo: Reuters

These were to include tax relief and aid for workers in the gig economy.

Trump said he was to hold a news conference yesterday to discuss the measures, adding that the virus has “blindsided the world.”

The run on stock market prices robbed Trump of one of his main talking points ahead of November’s US presidential election.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 7.8 percent lower in the worst session since 2008.

With images of a virus-struck cruise ship constantly on live television, Trump’s tweet on Monday that “life & the economy go on” seemed increasingly out of touch.

Alarm mounted further after at least two US Republican lawmakers who had met with Trump announced that they were going into self-quarantine, fearing that they were exposed to the virus at a conservative conference just outside Washington.

One of them, US Representative Matt Gaetz, had traveled with Trump on Air Force One on Monday.

Another, US Representative Doug Collins, was with Trump on Friday during a coronavirus briefing at the headquarters of the US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Incoming White House chief of staff Mark Meadows also went into self-quarantine on Monday after learning he might also have been exposed at the same conference.

Although he is not exhibiting symptoms, and a precautionary test came back negative, “he’ll be self-quarantined till the 14 day period passes Wednesday,” his spokesman said on Twitter.

The spreading virus also raises questions over whether Trump would be able to continue holding the large rallies at the heart of his re-election campaign.

Trump has not been tested for the virus, White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said on Monday.

“He has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms,” she said in a statement.

Stories of new cases flooded in across the country — from a Washington church rector to the head of New York City’s ports authority — as some stores ran out of hand sanitizer and masks.

Grisham said that there was no need for worry, denying reports that staff had been instructed to limit face-to-face meetings.

“While we have asked all Americans to exercise commonsense hygiene measures, we are conducting business as usual. I want to remind the media once again to be responsible with all reporting,” Grisham said.

Trump himself appeared to be less than strict about disease-prevention guidelines as he shook hands with well-wishers while in Florida on Monday.

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content_text:
UNITED KINGDOM

Sussexes bow out as royals

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, on Monday bowed out as senior royals, joining Queen Elizabeth II for a Commonwealth Day ceremony in London before setting off on their own. The duke and duchess of Sussex were cheered as they joined other members of the royal family at Westminster Abbey in their final public engagement before stepping back from their roles on March 31. Meghan joined Harry as they briefly spoke with dignitaries before the arrival of the queen.

CHINA

Dramatic Quanzhou rescue

A 10-year-old boy and his mother were rescued about midnight on Monday from the rubble of a quarantine hotel, 52 hours after the building in Quanzhou collapsed. Video released by rescuers showed the two being pulled from the debris, three hours after they had been discovered. The death toll in the collapse yesterday rose to 18, with 12 people missing. Seventy-one people had been inside the hotel when it crumbled.

SOUTH KOREA

New case total declines

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) yesterday reported 35 new COVID-19 cases, after 131 were confirmed on Monday, the first time in two weeks that there were fewer than 150 new cases. Yesterday’s figure was the fifth consecutive daily fall. Three more people died, taking the death toll to 54, it said. “The number of new COVID-19 cases has been declining, so we can assess the rate of increase is coming to a standstill,” said Yoon Tae-ho at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters. However, he warned against any relaxation of containment efforts.

ZIMBABWE

Thai man flees from test

A 26-year-old Thai man fled a hospital in Harare as staff were preparing to test him for COVID-19, ZTN News said on Monday. The man had been referred to Harare’s main infectious diseases hospital by a private clinic, ZTN News said. He fled the hospital with his father’s help immediately after going through incubation and while waiting to be tested. “We have reported the case to the police,” Harare City Health Director Prosper Chonzi told ZTN.

UNITED STATES

Court clears Led Zeppelin

A federal appeals court on Monday restored a jury verdict that found that Led Zeppelin did not steal Stairway to Heaven. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco handed the major win to guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant, and dealt a blow to the estate of Randy Wolfe of the band Spirit. The estate claimed that the 1971 hit Stairway to Heaven violated the copyright of the 1968 song Taurus. A majority of an 11-judge panel overturned a previous ruling that the jury in the 2016 trial should have heard the recording of Taurus.

UNITED STATES

Young endorses Sanders

Neil Young has endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for president, saying that he is “the real deal” to win the Democratic nomination. Writing on his personal Web site, the 74-year-old folk singer said that Sanders’ policies on climate change, student debt, healthcare and the minimum wage were the “big changes” required to beat President Donald Trump in the November election. “I support Bernie because I listen to what he says,” he wrote. “Every point he makes is what I believe in. Every one.”

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title: World News Quick Take


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Wash hands, do not rub eyes to avoid COVID-19: doctor

EXPOSED TISSUE:
 The mucous membranes in the eyes could be an entry point for pathogens that can cause diseases, such as COVID-19 and conjunctivitis

While masks can protect the mouth and nose against COVID-19 infection, they leave the eyes exposed, a doctor said on Sunday, urging people to frequently wash their hands and avoid rubbing their eyes.

The mucous membranes in the eyes could be an entry point for germs or the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital ophthalmology division head Chen Ying-shan (陳瑩山) said.

Some Chinese infected with COVID-19 developed conjunctivitis, with tear and eye discharge samples testing positive for the virus, indicating that there is a risk of contracting the disease through the eyes, he said, citing a study by China’s Zhejiang University.

Mucous membranes in the eye are the only exposed mucous tissues in the human body and could allow the entry of pathogens if there is a tear, Chen said.

The number of children diagnosed with conjunctivitis at a Hsinchu County hospital has risen by up to 40 percent since schools opened late last month, he said.

The increase might be linked to disease transmission at schools or air pollution, Chen said, adding that most parents were not sure whether their child’s condition was caused by an allergic reaction or a bacterial infection.

Symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis in children typically include itching, which leads to frequent eye-rubbing, as well as swelling, redness and excessive discharge, he said.

Pathogens in the discharge could easily spread to the eyelashes and other areas of the face as well as glasses, Chen said.

Washing hands frequently is key to preventing transferring pathogens from the eyes to other surfaces, or vice versa, he said.


title: Korean Air boss warns firm fighting to survive

content_text:
ENGINEERING CRISIS:
 Samsung Display has asked Vietnam to exempt scores of South Korean engineers from quarantine to begin preparations for production

Korean Air Lines Co has warned that a global outbreak of COVID-19 could threaten its survival after more than half of the world restricted the entry of passengers traveling from South Korea.

More than 80 percent of South Korea’s biggest carrier’s international capacity had been cut as a result of travel restrictions globally, compared with an 18 percent cut during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, Korean Air president Woo Kee-hong told employees in a memorandum dated on Monday.

‘DAUNTING’

Korean Air Lines Co flight attendants wait to have their temperatures taken and health assessed at a checkpoint for people flying from a list of countries and territories — including China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Iran and Italy — as a precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19 at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Monday.
 Photo: AFP

“We can easily imagine the severity of the crisis we are facing in comparison, and what is more daunting is that the situation can get worse at any time and we cannot even predict how long it will last,” Woo said.

Korean Air had grounded about 100 of its 145 passenger aircraft, he said.

Self-help measures included deferring investments, cutting down on operational expenses and encouraging employees to take voluntary leave, he added.

“But if the situation continues for a longer period, we may reach the threshold where we cannot guarantee the company’s survival,” Woo said.

However, he said that the company was “strong and resilient,” adding: “We will keep this basic principle of minimizing the sacrifice of our employees.”

Korean Air yesterday said that it is encouraging foreign pilots to take leave from next month.

Japan on Thursday last week joined a number of countries to impose curbs on travelers from South Korea, adding to the woes of its airlines, which have been among the hardest hit by flight cancelations.

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines Inc and budget carriers Jin Air Co Ltd, Air Busan Co Ltd and T’way Air Co Ltd on Monday suspended all routes between Japan and South Korea.

The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the South Korean Financial Supervisory Service and state-run Korea Development Bank last month announced that they would extend up to 300 billion won (US$251.2 million) of liquidity to domestic budget carriers because of the crisis.

SAMSUNG SETBACK?

Separately, Samsung Display Co, a supplier for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc, has asked Vietnam to exempt 700 engineers from coronavirus-hit South Korea from a mandatory quarantine, saying that they need to prepare for the production of screens for new smartphones.

Vietnam has mandated a 14-day quarantine for people entering from South Korea to curb the spread of the virus. South Korea has reported one of the highest numbers of infections outside China.

This has come as a blow to South Korean firms, which are the biggest foreign investors in Vietnam. Samsung Display runs a factory in the Southeast Asian country, where it assembles organic LED displays used in smartphones made by Samsung Electronics, Apple and Huawei Technologies Co (華為).

“Around this time of the year, Samsung Display sends engineers from [South] Korea to Vietnam to prepare for new products scheduled to be launched in the latter half of the year,” a person familiar with the matter told reporters. “Travel restrictions could deal a setback to such plan.”

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content_text:
A: Did you know that there are only around 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild?

B: I knew that giant pandas are an endangered species, but I didn’t realize there are so few left.

A: Yep, they live in just a few mountain ranges in central China. They used to live in lowland areas, but farming, development and deforestation forced them to migrate to more isolated mountainous regions.

A: 你知道嗎？現在野外的大貓熊只剩下大約一千隻了。

B: 我知道大貓熊是瀕危物種，但我沒想到只剩那麼少隻。

A: 是啊，牠們棲息在中國中部的幾座山脈中。他們曾經生活在低地地區，但是農業、開發、砍伐竹林迫使牠們遷徙到更為與世隔絕的山區。

English 英文:

Chinese 中文:

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title: EVERYDAY ENGLISH


title: World Business Quick Take

content_text:
GERMANY

Virus may trigger recession

The COVID-19 crisis would spark a recession in Germany, the head of the influential Ifo Institute for Economic Research told Sudwestrundfunk yesterday. Economist Clemens Fuest told the broadcaster that he saw the world on the brink of an economic crisis and that there are parallels to the 2008 financial crisis. The German government acted correctly by facilitating access to the short-time work allowance, Fuest said, but added that more must be done.

DEBT

Argentina finalizes proposal

Argentina has finalized a proposal to restructure about US$69 billion of the country’s massive public debt, the government said yesterday, hoping to delay the maturity of some institutional loans and reduce the amount owed to private creditors. The government last week said that it had recruited HSBC Holdings PLC, Lazard Ltd and Bank of America Corp to help with the restructuring. Argentina owes US$311 billion — more than 90 percent of the country’s GDP — with more than US$30 billion in repayments due before the end of this month.

SEMICONDUCTORS

US approves Cypress sale

Infineon Technologies AG’s US$8.7 billion acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor Corp was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a small step forward for deals in an industry where regulatory and security concerns have stalled consolidation. The combination still needs approval from the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation, the companies said. Shares of Cypress yesterday surged more than 40 percent in extended trading following the announcement, while Infineon shares also rose in trading in Frankfurt, Germany.

ALCOHOL

Heineken to expand facility

Heineken NV is to invest 865 million reais (US$183.1 million) to expand its brewing plant in Ponta Grossa, Brazil, the company said on Monday, as competition between the world’s two largest beer makers bubbles up. The Dutch brewer is to make the investment this year and next, and focus on its Heineken and Amstel brands at the third-largest brewing facility in Parana state, its most important market worldwide. The company did not give details of the expansion plan, saying only that production would rise by 75 percent.

BANKING

Virus to fuel Asian losses

The coronavirus outbreak is to add US$100 billion in credit losses to banks in the Asia-Pacific region this year, with Chinese lenders bearing the brunt of the damage, S&P Global Inc said yesterday. “Some activity will be lost forever,” S&P Asia-Pacific chief economist Shaun Roache wrote in a note. “We estimate an income loss of about US$211 billion, which will blow a hole in balance sheets across the region.” The COVID-19 crisis would likely exert sharp, short-term pressure on Chinese banks, the note said.

SECURITY

DR Congo gives FSG license

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has granted an insurance license to a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Frontier Services Group (FSG), a security and logistics company run by Erik Prince, the founder of private security firm Blackwater. FSG has a subsidiary in the DR Congo with a mandate to extract and sell minerals, and work in security. Prince last year pitched a plan to deploy a private army to help the Venezuelan opposition topple the government, sources told reporters.

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