Day: March 4, 2022

Former NBA No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett will likely make his debut with the Kaohsiung Steelers in Taiwan’s professional P. LEAGUE+ this weekend.

The Kaohsiung club has promoted the 2.03-meter Bennett’s arrival to Taiwan with much fanfare, highlighting his social media presence and hyping up his anticipated matchup against Canadian compatriot 2.26-meter Sim Bhullar of the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers.

On Thursday, however, the Steelers said Bennett will be on the team’s roster for their game against the Lioneers in Hsinchu on Saturday but did not guarantee he will play.

Bennett was the talk of the NBA when he was selected first overall in the 2013 draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Bhullar went undrafted in 2014 but later joined the Sacramento Kings.

In an Instagram post, Bennett admitted Bhullar had a big height advantage but said the strategy will be to keep him out of the paint.

“Good luck, stay healthy. Hope you can catch your breath, because we’re going to run,” Bennett said in a message to Bhullar.

The Steelers are fifth in the six team P. LEAGUE+ with a 4-9 record, while the Lioneers are fourth at 7-6.

Formosa Taishin Dreamers sign Stefan Jankovic: The P. LEAGUE+’s Formosa Taishin Dreamers have signed Serbian-Canadian Stefan Jankovic, the club announced Wednesday.

The 28-year-old 2.11-meter big man is currently in Taiwan and undergoing mandatory quarantine, the Dreamers said in a statement.

Jankovic has played for clubs in the NBA G League, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, and Belarus. He averaged 10 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in the 2021-2022 season of the VTB UNITED LEAGUE in Belarus with Tsmoki-Minsk.

Dreamers General Manager Jonathan Han (???) said Jankovic is an excellent center who shoots well from beyond the arc.

“In addition to being a good defender, he brings some firepower on the offensive end. I believe he can quickly fit into the team’s small-ball style of play,” Han said.

Jankovic was also eager to join the Dreamers, who lead the league with an 8-4 record, saying he has been watching the team’s games while in quarantine.

Manny Harris signs with Steelers: The Steelers have signed former NBA player Corperryale L’Adorable “Manny” Harris, the club announced Wednesday.

The 32-year-old 1.96-meter shooting guard arrived in Taiwan in the second half of last month and is currently undergoing mandatory quarantine, the Steelers said, and he is expected to be out of quarantine next week.

He logged 93 games in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Dallas Mavericks between 2010 and 2017, and has since played in Europe and Asia.

Harris had an impressive 2020-2021 season with the Shandong Heroes (now rebranded as the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin) of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), averaging 22.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

Harris joined AEK Athens in the Greek Basket League in July 2021 but left in October and has been out of the game since.

Branden Dawson returns to U.S.: Branden Dawson has parted ways with the Lioneers due to family obligations, the club said Tuesday.

Dawson asked that his contract be terminated so that he could return to the United States to be with his family, the club said.

The 2.00-meter forward joined the Lioneers in February 2021 during the P.LEAGUE+’s inaugural season and averaged 21.1 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in seven games.

During the current season, he had averaged 16.9 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.

The Lioneers thanked Dawson for his effort with the team and said they would be willing to have him back next season.

Dawson thanked the fans for their support in a recorded video on a Lioneers social media account and explained that he had a “family issue” to attend to.

P. LEAGUE+ and T1 LEAGUE upcoming games: The P. LEAGUE+’s Taoyuan Pilots will host the Dreamers on Saturday, the Taipei Fubon Braves on Sunday, and the New Taipei Kings on Tuesday, while the Lioneers will host the Steelers Saturday and the Kings Sunday.

The T1 LEAGUE will see the New Taipei CTBC DEA host the TaiwanBeer HeroBears on Friday, the Taichung Wagor Suns on Saturday, and the Kaohsiung Aquas on Sunday, while the HeroBears will host the Tainan TSG GhostHawks on Saturday and the Taoyuan Leopards on Sunday.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the four-year sentence handed down to a retired military officer who was convicted of breaking Taiwan’s national security law by attempting to develop a spy network for China.

Retired Lieutenant colonel Tu Yung-hsin (???) was indicted by New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for violating the National Security Act on Dec. 23, 2019.

Tu retired from the military in February 1994, and subsequently went to China where he ran a business, prosecutors said.

During his time there, he met a Chinese intelligence officer who asked him to set up a spy network in Taiwan and gather information for the Chinese security agency in exchange for financial gain, they said.

After returning to Taiwan in 2011, Tu focused on recruiting former colleagues and acquaintances with financial difficulties, by offering them money, expensive wine and tea, and all-expenses-paid trips overseas.

One man he tried to enroll was an army lieutenant-colonel surnamed Tsai (?), who was an officer in a combined arms battalion, prosecutors said.

According to the office, Tu asked Tsai to switch allegiance to the People’s Republic of China, and said he would need to record a video of himself vowing: “In the future, Taiwan will unify with China. If war breaks out between the two sides, I will not fight, and will cooperate with the Chinese motherland.”

During a meeting with Tu, Tsai secretly recorded their conversations and kept the NT$200,000 (US$7,110) and gifts given to him, which he then handed over as evidence to prosecutors for them to investigate Tu.

Tsai was not charged after bringing the case to prosecutors.

In a New Taipei District Court hearing, Tu denied he was working for China, saying he was just bragging to Tsai after a few beers.

The court did not believe his explanation, and on Oct. 14, 2020, sentenced him to four-years in jail for attempting to develop a spy network for China, in accordance with the National Security Act.

Tu filed an appeal, but the Taiwan High Court on Nov. 24 last year upheld his four-year jail term for national security offenses.

He appealed the High Court’s decision but the appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court on Thursday. The court’s decision is final.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Shares in Taiwan came under heavy pressure Friday after American markets fell overnight because of the crisis in Ukraine and concerns over an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, dealers said.

The bellwether electronics sector was hit hard by a plunge in tech stocks in the United States, and selling in financial stocks pushed the broader market down further, but select raw material stocks appeared resilient, they said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s benchmark index, ended down 197.88 points, or 1.10 percent, at 17,736.52 after moving between 17,710.54 and 17,845.01. Turnover was NT$387.78 billion (US$13.8 billion).

The market opened down 0.50 percent and selling soon escalated after a 1.56 percent decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index and a 2.24 percent drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index led investors here to dump large cap electronics stocks, dealers said.

Ukraine, U.S. Fed’s next move

“The local market was dictated by U.S. markets today as the war in Ukraine continued to hurt market sentiment,” Cathay Futures Consulting analyst Tsai Ming-han (???) said.

“More importantly, with the Fed’s next policymaking meeting coming on March 15, many investors are wondering what it will do to take on inflation,” Tsai said.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee that he was inclined toward a 25-basis point hike in March but was open to more aggressive moves down the line.

Because of Powell’s testimony, “U.S. markets remained volatile as investors continued to dump tech stocks that had relatively high valuations. The same pattern dominated trading in Taiwan today,” Tsai said.

TSMC

Tsai said contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, fell victim to such selling throughout the session.

TSMC lost 1.16 percent to close at NT$595.00, ending below NT$600 for the first time since Dec. 21, 2021, when TSMC shares closed at NT$597.00. Led by TSMC, the electronics sector lost 1.24 percent, and the semiconductor sub-index fell 1.62 percent.

“It is hard to say where TSMC will see technical support as long as tech stocks on U.S. markets continue to be punished amid geopolitical concerns and worries over the Fed’s tightening,” Tsai said.

Among other semiconductor stocks, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), a smaller contract chipmaker, fell 1.48 percent to close at NT$53.40, and smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc. lost 5.09 percent to end at NT$1.025.00.

Power management IC designer Silergy Corp. also dropped 5.13 percent to close at NT$3,700.00, but application-specific IC (ASIC) designer Alchip Technologies Ltd. gained 2.52 percent to end at NT$1,220.00.

Elsewhere in the electronics sector, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. rose 0.48 percent to close at NT$105.00, while Largan Precision Co., a supplier of smartphone camera lenses to Apple Inc., closed 0.74 percent lower at NT$2,025.00.

Old economy stocks

“When the tech sector suffers losses, buying tends to rotate to old economy stocks. Today, select raw material and shipping stocks benefited,” Tsai said.

Among steel stocks, Chun Yu Works & Co. rose 2.84 percent to close at NT$32.60 and Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp. finished 2.82 percent higher at NT$73.00.

China Steel Corp., the largest steel maker in Taiwan, lost 0.52 percent to end at NT$38.40 but still outperformed the broader market. First Copper Technology Co., meanwhile, surged 8.40 percent to end at NT$51.00.

In the transportation sector, which rose 0.51 percent, container cargo shipper Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. gained 6.40 percent to close at NT$133.00, while Wan Hai Lines Ltd. ended unchanged at NT$192.00, and Evergreen Marine Corp. lost 0.93 percent to close at NT$159.00.

Financials

The financial sector also took a beating, ending down 1.26 percent.

Among the falling financial stocks, Cathay Financial Holding Co. lost 1.45 percent to end at NT$61.20, Fubon Financial Holding Co. fell 1.59 percent to close at NT$74.40, and CTBC Financial Holding Co. shed 2.15 percent to end at NT$27.35.

“Before the Fed’s next meeting, I expect tech stocks to continue to appear weak and the Taiex to likely see stiff pressure ahead of the 60-day moving average of around 18,000 points,” Tsai said.

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$43.03 billion in shares on the market Friday.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel