March 12, 2022 – Taiwan News Gazette

March 12, 2022

Crurated Partners With More than 50 World Renowned European Winemakers to Raise Funds for Ukraine Relief Efforts

Coveted producers including Louis Roederer Cristal, Domaine Meo-Camuzet, and Domaine Dujac offer up lots of wine for auction with the initial pre-auction value at $100,000

Each bottle sold includes access to an exclusive NFT that verifies authenticity, ownership history, vintage, vineyard location, varietal, and more

LONDON, March 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The world’s top wine producers are responding to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine in an innovative way. Crurated, the London-based membership wine community designed to connect connoisseurs with world-class producers, has announced it is dedicating the week of March 14-20, 2022 for The All Heart Auction, an online event auctioning rare wines from world renowned producers to support humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people. Selected producers donating wines for the auction include Louis Roederer Cristal, Domaine Meo-Camuzet, and Domaine Dujac among many others. The initial value of the more than 250 bottles of wine pre-auction totals $100,000. A full list of all producers participating is below.

Members and non-members alike are encouraged to participate and bid. Interested bidders are invited to register for an account at www.crurated.com. Non-members can sign-up for a free Explorer membership, allowing anyone to submit bids on the Crurated platform and participate in the fundraising event.

100% of the funds raised from the auction will be distributed to Red Cross, Save The Children, UNHCR, and UNICEF.

The team from Crurated has also developed a unique platform that offers clients an accompanying NFT with each purchase. Recorded forever on the blockchain, the NFT verifies authenticity of the bottle and provides other important details including ownership history, vintage, vineyard location, varietal, and other key details. The NFTs are easily accessible by tapping on an NFC or RFID enabled phone. The bottle history is also updated via a new blockchain recording anytime the wine is resold and the token moves from one client to another. The company uses Polygon technology for NFTs and blockchain.

“It has been amazing watching the world unite to help the people of Ukraine. Our auction initiative represents how I feel about wine and its ability to offer such a generous gift to the world,” said Alfonso de Gaetano, Founder of Crurated. “Our platform is also perfectly suited for this initiative because we automatically assign an NFT for every bottle that is brought into our warehouse and loaded onto the platform. We are anticipating an exciting auction with generous donors pitching in to help lessen the humanitarian crisis.”

“We have had a special link to Ukraine for more than 20 years and have sponsored a charitable event to help young dancers and their families in Lviv. We’ve also raised funds for the Lviv pediatric hospital,” said Jean-Nicolas & Nathalie Méo, of Meo-Camuzet. “Some of the children we had at home for summer vacation are probably old enough to be fighting now, and we dread the thought of their involvement in this war. We hope that the very special wines we have donated for the auction will receive an appropriate welcome and help support the needs of the Ukrainian civilians.”

Other world-class winemakers participating in the auction include: Larmandier-Bernier, Pascal Agrapart, Pierre Péters, Suenen, Bérêche & Fils, Doyard, Moussé Fils, Salon, Vilmart & Cie, Billecart-Salmon, Geoffroy, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Caroline Colin-Morey, Robert Groffier, Père & Fils, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Caroline Colin-Morey, Robert Groffier Père & Fils, Georges Mugneret-Gibourg, Arnaud Baillot, Duroché, Fourrier, Denis Mortet, Dujac, Chateau Pavie, Tenuta Sette Ponti, Ceretto, Massolino, Poderi Aldo Conterno, Grattamacco, Casanova di Neri, Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, Bartolo Mascarello, Biondi Santi, Argiano, Mascarello Giuseppe e Figlio, Il Marroneto, Giacomo Conterno, Montevertine, Tenuta di Trinoro, Elio Altare, Fontanafredda, Borgogno, and Roberto Voerzio.

About Crurated
Launched in 2021 with an emphasis on France and Italy, Crurated is a membership-based wine community designed to connect connoisseurs with world-class producers. A team of specialists provides personalized services and authentic experiences, while Crurated’s seamless logistics service guarantees quality and provenance thanks to secure wine cellar storage and innovative blockchain technology. For more on Crurated, visit crurated.com.

Contact:
Michael Volpatt
michael@larkingvolpatt.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/55b86cad-5691-4932-825d-2db421ba1005

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4144ffac-f7ef-4b74-bcd0-cd2e5bb5ef78

PDF available: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/0f1d1375-a96e-4baa-9585-d3c7484b85f3

March 12, 2022

‘Today’s Ukraine, tomorrow’s Taiwan:’ There is nothing inappropriate about the comparison

Published by
Hong Kong Free Press

Some people in Hong Kong might find the phrase “today’s Ukraine, tomorrow’s Taiwan” familiar. It was commonly repeated during the self-ruled island’s 2014 Sunflower Movement and in 2019, when Hong Kong saw months of protests and unrest, only with “Hong Kong” in place of “Ukraine.” The phrase implied that what was happening to Hong Kong could eventually happen to Taiwan, too. It is understandable that the updated phrase has sprung up in Taiwan, where Ukraine’s predicament has led to a lot of animated discussion on whether it could happen on the island too. Taiwan’s government has frowned upon t… Continue reading “‘Today’s Ukraine, tomorrow’s Taiwan:’ There is nothing inappropriate about the comparison”

March 12, 2022

Russia-Ukraine conflict impact could cut Taiwan GDP growth by 0.3-0.4 points

If the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues and the resultant impact on the global economy intensifies, Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth could be reduced by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points this year, according to the central bank.

In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the central bank said as long as the war waged by Russia against Ukraine has no immediate signs of an end, the world’s major economies are likely to escalate their sanctions on Russia, a move expected to affect consumption and investment confidence worldwide.

The central bank said uncertainty resulting from the sanctions against Russia could hurt consumption and investment confidence worldwide, and eventually slow down the pace of the global economic recovery. Export-oriented Taiwan could suffer collateral damage, the central bank added.

In addition, skyrocketing international crude prices and a spike in prices for grains such as corn, wheat and soybeans due to the sanctions against Russia have pushed up inflationary pressure in Taiwan, according to the central bank.

More sanctions against Russia

On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced his country and its allies will further sanction Russia by removing its most favored nation trading status after having announced a ban on gas and oil imports from Russia on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Russia was kicked out of the Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the global provider of secure financial messaging services, making it extremely difficult for the country to make international transactions.

Russia and Ukraine ended their fourth round of talks on Thursday without any breakthrough, leading to Moscow resuming their shelling of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, and more Ukrainians fleeing their country.

The Oslo-based energy research firm Rystad Energy gave a forecast on Thursday about the worst-case scenario, saying that Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, could top US$240 per barrel this summer.

Local economic outlooks

The central bank said the local consumer price index (CPI) was likely to increase by 0.5-0.7 percentage points this year and pass the 2-percent alert level, while Taiwan’s GDP growth for 2022 could decline by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points.

In late February, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics forecast Taiwan’s GDP will grow by 4.42 percent in 2022, with the CPI likely to rise by 1.93 percent.

In the last quarterly policymaking meeting held in December, the central bank forecast that Taiwan’s economy will grow by 4.03 percent and the CPI will rise by 1.59 percent this year.

Meanwhile, the central bank said exposure to Russia and Ukraine by the local financial sector was small so the impact resulting from the military conflict is expected to be limited.

Financial firms’ exposures

According to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the exposure of Taiwanese financial firms to Russia and Ukraine stood at NT$271.21 billion (US$9.55 billion) as of the end of January, down about NT$10 billion from a month earlier.

The central bank report came before the bank’s governor Yang Chin-long (???) is scheduled to attend a hearing at the Legislative Yuan on Monday to brief lawmakers on economic developments.

The central bank’s next quarterly policymaking meeting is scheduled to begin Thursday where it will provide its economic forecast and announce whether it will kick off a rate hike cycle.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

March 12, 2022

Longest bike lane in Taiwan inaugurated

Taiwan’s longest bike lane, which measures 87.5 kilometers in length, was inaugurated on Saturday, connecting Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan in the south, as the Council of Agriculture (COA) pledged to plant a total of 100,000 trees along the trail.

Constructed by the COA’s Irrigation Agency, the bike lane passes the Chianan Irrigation System (????) and parts of the Chianan Plain, which is the hub of Taiwan’s agriculture, COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (???) said at an inauguration ceremony in Tainan.

According to the Irrigation Agency, the bike lane begins in Yunlin County’s Linnei Township and ends at Tainan’s Guantian District near Wusanto Reservoir.

At the ceremony, hundreds of people, including President Tsai Ing-wen (???), Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) and other government officials, planted trees endemic to Taiwan by the bike lane.

The COA plans to plant a total of 100,000 trees along the route to help reduce the impact of carbon dioxide emissions, Chen said.

He added that people riding a bike along the lane would have a chance to get to know the diversity of Taiwan’s agriculture as well as the irrigation facilities first built a century ago during the Japanese colonial era.

At the ceremony, Tsai praised the Irrigation Agency for improving the environment surrounding the irrigation systems, while building the longest bike lane in Taiwan.

The bike path is one of the seven bike lanes, pedestrian lanes, or hiking trails that the government has been building or renovating over the past few years across Taiwan, Tsai said.

This latest cycling route will expose visitors to the rich natural and historical resources in the area and allow them to see the beauty of Taiwan, she added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

March 12, 2022

Two TV production crew members die in filming accident in Miaoli

Two members of a filming crew died Friday after they fell into a valley in Miaoli County while working on the Taiwanese television drama series “First Embrace” (??), for which shooting had begun in February.

The incident occurred at Shenxian Valley in Nanzhuang Township, and involved a 38-year-old photographer identified by his last name Huang (?) and a 34-year-old sound assistant surnamed Wang (?).

Tang Hui-ping (???), a deputy chief of the Miaoli County Fire Bureau, said a team was immediately dispatched after a report was received at 3:51 p.m. that two people had accidentally fallen into a valley.

When rescuers arrived at the scene, the two men were found 20 meters downstream from where they had fallen and without signs of life, Tang said.

Huang and Wang were subsequently airlifted to Miaoli General Hospital and Da Chien General Hospital, but the deputy chief said doctors later pronounced them dead after resuscitation attempts failed.

It was not immediately known whether their cause of death was due to drowning, but according to the hospitals, Huang was found to have sustained multiple fractures to the head while Wang had a scalp hematoma and also an external head injury.

The two men were in Miaoli that day as part of an 80-person crew to film the drama series “First Embrace,” which is being produced by Taipei-based Domani Production Co.

Later Friday, Nanzhuang Township chief Lo Chun-lien (???) said their cause of death had yet to be determined pending a police investigation.

The filming crew from Domani had applied to shoot at Shenxian Valley on Feb. 14, Lo said, but because the team failed to complete a scene, they applied again for permission to film at the site from March 10-15.

On Saturday, the production company issued a statement saying that filming of “First Embrace” was being temporarily halted as authorities look into the cause of the accident.

According to the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Administration, Shenxian Valley, also known as the Valley of Gods, is situated at 650 meters above sea level and is a gorge formed by the confluence of Luhu River, Luchang River, and Fengmei River.

The valley in Miaoli is also one of the locations used for the filming of the award-winning 2011 Taiwanese historical drama film “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale.”

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel