Category: General

The first locally designed and built missile propellant factory in Taiwan was officially opened in Pingtung County Friday, according to the National Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST).

The new facility at NCSIST’s Jiupeng complex in Pingtung will help meet the armed forces demand for mass production of missiles, as well as facilitate further research and development of rocket propellants, the military research institute said in a statement.

It took three years to build the NT$540 million (US$18.15 million) facility, which houses a 300-gallon mixer, a 50-gallon mixer and storage units, according to NCSIST.

It is part of the institute’s project of producing and developing new missiles in the country’s bid to increase Taiwan’s air and naval defense capability, it said.

As propellant mixers are considered strategic equipment in several countries around the world and exports are restricted, the institute worked with more than 30 companies in Taiwan to build the country’s first locally designed propellant mixer, it added.

The 300-gallon mixer was also built with several safety mechanisms, including an internal fire-suppression system, infrared monitoring, and an early warning system for temperatures, vibration and other irregularities, the institute said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

The number of workers on unpaid leave in Taiwan breached the 20,000 mark over the past week, with the increase attributed in large part to a downturn in the food, beverage and lodging sector, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Friday.

Data released by the MOL showed the number of workers enrolled in furlough programs continued to swell across Taiwan, hitting 20,839, a 1,355 rise from the previous report released on June 16.

The number of companies with furlough programs in place also rose by 183 from a week earlier to 2,912.

Huang Wei-chen (???), director of the MOL’s Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, told CNA that 900 workers from the food, beverage and lodging sector were furloughed over the past week.

This meant that those on unpaid leave in the sector reached a new high for 2022 of 5,589 with Huang attributing the rise to consumers continuing to forgo travel and dining out amid the current COVID-19 outbreak.

However, Huang said he expects the situation to improve following the government’s decision to ease border restrictions on June 15, with a maximum of 25,000 weekly arrivals now permitted to enter Taiwan.

With the summer vacation looming and more incentives for domestic travel set to begin around mid-July, Huang said he anticipates “positive developments.”

The MOL updates its furloughed worker data on the 1st, 8th, 16th, and 24th of every month, reporting unpaid leave numbers for companies that have registered their furlough programs with the ministry.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Business sentiment in the local manufacturing sector fell in May to the lowest in nearly two years, due to unrelenting inflationary pressure and growing geopolitical tensions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said Friday.

TIER data showed that the composite index, which gauges the manufacturing sector’s business sentiment, fell by 2.21 points in May from a month earlier to 92.58, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline and the lowest level since July 2020.

Despite the downward trend, the index fell in a narrower range compared to the 4.49-point drop in April, indicating a better business outlook for May, TIER said Friday, when it released its survey results at a press conference.

However, more manufacturers are pessimistic about the domestic economy’s performance in the second half of the year, amid worry that the United States Federal Reserve’s decisions to tighten its monetary policies in a bid to ease inflation would lead to a recession, TIER said.

According to TIER economist Wu Meng-tao (???), if the inflationary pressure does not ease, the Fed is likely to hike interest rates more aggressively in July, which may erode consumer purchasing power and darken the outlook for the global economy.

The TIER survey showed that only 25 percent of manufacturers in Taiwan were upbeat in May about their business prospects in the second half of the year, down from 27.3 percent in April, while 28.9 percent had a gloomy forecast, up from 19.5 percent.

In the service sector, however, business sentiment improved slightly in May, with the composite index rising 0.6 points from a month earlier to 95.86, according to TIER, one of the leading think tanks in Taiwan.

Sentiment in the construction sector also grew in May, as indicated by a 2.04-point monthly increase in the composite index to 98.14, reversing the downtrend in the previous three months, the data showed.

Meanwhile, transactions of residential and commercial properties in Taiwan’s six largest cities — Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — showed a 7.7 percent year-on-year decline in May, the TIER data indicated.

The think tank has projected a rebound in property transactions in the third quarter of the year, but it said that the extent of the recovery will depend on the stability of the domestic financial market and monetary and housing policies.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

From July 1, Turkmen Airlines plans to resume regular flights on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Turkmenbashi route , SalamNews reported on June 24, citing the company’s office.

Flights will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Earlier, Turkmenistan resumed regular flights to Dubai and Kazan (June 1).

On June 3, the Russian Embassy in Ashgabat reported that due to the resumption of regular flights between Russia and Turkmenistan (flights of the airline “Turkmenistan Airlines” on the route Ashgabat – Kazan – Turkmenabat), the consular department of the Embassy suspends the acceptance of documents for charter flights to Russia. The last charter flights took off on 10, 17 and 24 June.

However, “Turkmenistan Airlines” can not cope with the flow of applications for the purchase of tickets from Kazan to Turkmenabat.

Meanwhile, Turkmen news reports that on June 23, 155 citizens of Turkmenistan, including students, were returned to their homeland by Turkmen Airlines on an export flight from Minsk.

This is the third flight from Belarus in a month. On June 2 and 3, 220 people were sent on export flights from Minsk to Turkmenabat.

Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan

Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the Sixth Caspian Summit in Ashgabat, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on June 23 , RIA Novosti writes .

“Planning,” Peskov said, answering the question whether Putin plans to take part in the event in Ashgabat in person. Peskov added that the Kremlin would inform if bilateral meetings were scheduled on the sidelines of the summit.

The summit will be held in Ashgabat on June 29. The date of its holding coincides with the celebration of the 65th anniversary of ex-president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov .

In October 2017, the head of Russia paid an official visit to Turkmenistan. In October 2019, Vladimir Putin arrived in Ashgabat to attend a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State. He also held talks with his counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

A day earlier, on June 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in Ashgabat . He will take part in the Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Caspian States (CMFA), dedicated to the preparation of the Sixth Caspian Summit.

The fifth summit took place on August 12, 2018 in the city of Aktau (Kazakhstan). The head of Russia took part in it.

It was previously assumed that the Sixth Summit would be held in Turkmenistan in 2021. During a telephone conversation on October 7 last year, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov suggested that Vladimir Putin, despite the pandemic, hold it in person “for a detailed consideration of topical issues.” However, the dates of the forum were postponed to 2022.

On June 10, Vladimir Putin received President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in Moscow as part of his first official visit to Russia. The heads of the two states signed the Declaration on deepening the strategic partnership. At the same time, the head of Turkmenistan invited his colleague to visit Ashgabat. The head of Russia accepted the invitation.

Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan

Taipei fell from 33rd to 53rd in the “world’s most liveable cities” ranking this year, according to an annual report published by British weekly newspaper The Economist on Wednesday.

With the tagline “Life is getting back to normal, if not quite everywhere,” the report included 33 additional cities in its annual most liveable cities ranking for 2022 which included a total of 172 locations.

The Economist also included Taichung in the rankings, with a score of 80 to 90, similar to that of Taipei, but without indicating the city’s ranking.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the newspaper’s sister company, the Austrian city of Vienna replaced Auckland in New Zealand as the most liveable city, reclaiming the title it previously held in 2018 and 2019.

The Economist wrote of the city: “In Vienna they call it Lebenskunst — the art of living well — and now that restaurants and museums in the Austrian capital have reopened, it is once again the perfect place to practice the art.”

The EIU and its survey noted the availability of entertainments post COVID, well-rounded and stable infrastructure as well as commendable healthcare as reasons Vienna is an appealing city to live in.

The EIU also attributed Auckland’s drop to 34th this year to New Zealand’s COVID-19 response measures and the effects of the pandemic.

Europe took six of the top 10 spots in the Economist rankings, with the Danish capital Copenhagen taking second spot after Vienna, followed by Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland in third and sixth place, respectively

Frankfurt in Germany took seventh place in the rankings, while Amsterdam in the Netherlands was ninth.

In North America, Calgary in Canada came joint third with Zurich, while Vancouver took fifth and Toronto eighth spot.

Osaka in Japan and Melbourne in Australia were joint 10th.

With its ongoing civil conflict, the Syrian capital of Damascus remained in last place in the rankings.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was not included in the rankings this year due to The Economist being forced to abort its survey of the city as a result of the ongoing war, while Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia fell 15 and 13 places, respectively.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan’s military is aware of Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships that recently sailed near the country and had deployed warships to monitor their movements, military spokesman Sun Li-fang (???) said Thursday.

Despite the grave threat, the military is determined to maintain training and combat-readiness and is confident of being able to safeguard national security, Sun said at a press conference, responding to the recent news that the PLAN’s Type 056A light frigate (Jiangdao Class) and Type 052C guided-missile destroyer (Luyang-II Class) had sailed separately between Yonaguni Island of Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture and Taiwan’s Yilan County on Tuesday.

The Type 056A light frigate was spotted at around 9 a.m. (8 a.m. Taiwan time) Tuesday in the sea about 220 km north of Yonaguni Island and Type 052C guided-missile destroyer at 11 p.m. the same day about 210 km north of the island, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said in a press release Wednesday.

The two PLAN ships traveled southward between Yonaguni Island and Yilan and headed for the Pacific Ocean, according to the release.

According to media reports, the two PLAN ships were among several Russian and Chinese warships that Japan’s Ministry of Defense has observed near Japan’s territory recently.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi on Wednesday criticized Chinese and Russian warships recently sailing near Japan for their “show of force,” warning against such actions as saber-rattling tactics against his nation, according to a Kyodo News report that day.

Kishi, who was then visiting Phnom Penh, expressed concern over “nearly 10 Russian and Chinese ships” moving around Japan on similar routes since mid-June, according to the report.

He described the actions as “almost circling Japan,” the report said.

Citing press releases from Japan’s Ministry of Defense, CNN reported on Wednesday that at least eight Russian and Chinese warships have been spotted in the seas near Japan this week.

There was no claim from Tokyo that Russia and China were coordinating their actions, like they did last October when 10 Russian and Chinese warships jointly participated in exercises in which they circumnavigated much of the Japanese archipelago, CNN reported.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Nanya Technology Corp., a major Taiwanese manufacturer of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for its new factory in Taishan District, New Taipei.

The company said it plans to invest approximately NT$300 billion (US$10.06 billion) to build the advanced semiconductor fabrication plant that is expected to start mass production in 2025.

The factory will be constructed in three phases, with the aim of reaching a monthly production capacity of 45,000 wafers when it is completed, Nanya Technology said.

The new fab will produce DRAM chips on Nanya Technology’s self-developed 10 nanometer-class process technology, it said.

President Tsai Ing-wen (???), who attended the groundbreaking ceremony, said that the introduction of the company’s 10-nm class DRAM process technology was a major step for Taiwan’s high-tech industry, strengthening its independent research and development capabilities.

With the implementation of its 10-nm process technology, Nanya Technology has become another “sacred mountain that protects the country,” and it will help drive further development of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, Tsai said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is sometimes referred to as a “sacred mountain protecting the country,” in light of its pivotal role in the global chip supply chain.

The production value of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has been making a great contribution to the country’s economy, with an annual production value of NT$4.1 trillion and a workforce of about 200,000, Tsai said, citing 2021 data.

According to Nanya Technology, when its new fab begins operations, the company’s annual production value will rise to NT$70 billion and its DRAM chip output will increase 120 percent.

Upon completion, the plant is expected to provide 3,000 high-tech jobs, the chipmaker added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chen Ja-chin (???) has applied for early retirement effective June 30, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (???) said Thursday.

At a press conference, Lo said that while Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) had “fully supported” Chen’s leadership of the agency since 2017 and was sorry to see him retire, he “respected” his reasons for doing so.

According to Lo, Chen’s decision to step down ahead of his scheduled July 2023 retirement was based in part on his desire to leave important personnel decisions to his successor.

More than 20 high-ranking police officials are set to reach retirement age this July and next January, Lo said, including the deputy director of the NPA as well as police chiefs and deputies in Taiwan’s six biggest cities.

Chen also wanted to give his successor adequate time to prepare for security around the January 2024 presidential elections, rather than handing over the reins just six months before they took place, Lo said.

Lo said Chen’s application for retirement would be handled by the Examination Yuan — the government branch which oversees civil servants — and did not need to be approved by the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Lo declined to confirm media reports stating that Kaohsiung police chief Huang Ming-chao (???) would be appointed to fill the NPA’s director-general position, saying only that the government would work to find the most suitable candidate and make an announcement once a decision was made.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Eleven suspects have been ordered by the New Taipei District Court to be detained and held incommunicado in a case in which people in the car rental and vehicle inspection business allegedly bribed police officers to get cars with suspended license plates back on the road more quickly.

Four police officers, six agents who help arrange vehicle inspections, and one vehicle inspector were detained Wednesday on suspicion of bribery and forgery, while three other officers were released on bail of between NT$50,000 (US$1,677) and NT$100,000, according to the New Taipei City Prosecutors Office.

Similar investigations are underway in Taoyuan and Hsinchu County.

In the case, New Taipei City police were tipped off last year about a large number of incidents in which cars with suspended license plates were being fined for traffic violations, resulting in the license plates being revoked.

Upon investigating, they discovered that car rental companies and agents who help arrange vehicle inspections had been paying bribes to New Taipei police officers and vehicle inspectors for help in exploiting a loophole in the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act.

The scheme mainly involved instances where a person had used a rental car to drive recklessly, resulting in its license plates being suspended for six months and causing the company to lose out on rental income.

In these cases, prosecutors said, the companies and agents would take the car back on the road and bribe police to issue them a traffic violation, in order to have the car’s already-suspended license plates revoked.

Then, after paying a small NT$3,600 fine, they could apply to have new plates issued and get the car back on the road, rather than waiting out the full six-month suspension.

The scheme rested on provisions in Article 12 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, which state that car owners who drive with suspended license plates will have their plates revoked, and must pay a fine of NT$3,600-NT$10,800.

The article also mandates that the car be confiscated at the scene, but says it can be claimed by the owner “after a prescribed period of time.”

In response to the news, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said Thursday that it had already closed the loophole that was allegedly exploited by the suspects.

For any vehicle whose license plate is ordered to be revoked, any previous license plate suspension period must be completed before the car’s plates can be revoked and reissued, it said, citing an order it issued to motor vehicles offices in March.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel