Category: Market

The Chinese Professional Baseball League’s (CPBL) Fubon Guardians have signed 30-year-old Dominican infielder Carlos Franco from the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball’s (ALPB) York Revolution.

The signing of Franco, the ALPB’s Player of the Month for June, comes two days after Guardians pitcher and the CPBL’s longest-serving import player Mike Loree announced his retirement.

According to a post on the Guardians’ Facebook page on Monday, Franco is slated to arrive in the first half of September, the same month that the 37-year-old Loree plans to call time on his CPBL career with a final outing for the Guardians at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium on Sept. 2.

Franco posted a .372 batting average in 24 games in June for the Revolution, driving in a league-best 29 runs and knocking out nine home runs for the Pennsylvania-based side

A former prospect in the Atlanta Braves minor league system, Franco reached as high as Triple-A, recording 109 hits and 16 home runs over 119 appearances for the Gwinnett Stripers in 2018, the Guardians said in a statement.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

The Honduran government regards Taiwan as a partner as it aims to boost its efforts to promote welfare and national development, said the new Honduran ambassador to Taiwan Harold Burgos during a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (???) on Tuesday.

The Honduran government places a top priority on social justice, public health, and education, Burgos said as he met with Tsai at the Presidential Office for the first time after he assumed the top envoy post in Taipei in July.

The Central American nation sees Taiwan as a partner as it works to build a society that can better protect vulnerable people and will be resilient against natural disasters, diseases, and other security threats, Burgos said.

Burgos said that the Honduran government led by President Xiomara Castro was faced with historic challenges in trying to revive the nation’s rule of law and democratic system.

According to Burgos, the Central American nation fell into the hands of an authoritarian regime after former President Jose Manuel Zelaya — the husband of Castro — was ousted 12 years ago and had since been weakened by problems like corruption and drugs.

It is important for Honduras to continue strengthening bilateral collaborations and dialogues with Taiwan on political, social, and economic issues, Burgos said, adding that he would spare no effort in promoting the ties and friendship between the two countries during his tenure.

Castro assumed office as the Central American country’s first female head of state in January.

Several statements made by her on the campaign trail had raised concerns that Castro might end Honduras’ 81-year diplomatic relationship with the Republic of China, the official name of Taiwan, in favor of establishing ties with Beijing.

However, Castro allayed Taipei’s fears by stating that she hoped to maintain the two countries’ relationship after she was sworn in.

Meanwhile, Tsai, describing Honduras as “an important ally” for Taiwan, said she hoped Burgos would elevate bilateral relations between the two countries to a new level.

Tsai said that in the face of the global expansion of authoritarianism, democratic partners must strengthen their cooperation in a variety of fields such as trade.

She mentioned that Taiwan had enjoyed a good trade relationship with Honduras, with exports of shrimps, beef, and coffee beans from the Central American nation becoming very popular in the Taiwanese market.

She also thanked the Honduran government for voicing support for Taiwan’s participation in international events.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan shares closed up 3.22 points, or 0.02 percent, at 15,420.57 on Tuesday on turnover of NT$208.4 billion (US$6.95 billion).

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

The mayor of Chernihiv in Ukraine thanked Taiwan on Wednesday for its US$500,000 donation to help with the reconstruction of his city, which has been under heavy attack by Russian military forces since they invaded Ukraine earlier this year.

“On behalf of the community of the city of Chernihiv and me personally, let us express our sincere gratitude to you for your significant financial support,” Vladyslav Atroshenko wrote in a letter addressed to the Taiwanese people.

In the letter published on the Chernihiv City Council website, Atroshenko said the city has been subjected to hard shelling and bombing by the Russian military since the very first day of the war in Ukraine.

“And at this heavy time, when our city needs essential help for reconstruction, your financial support that was allocated to the restoration of educational and medical institutions is really invaluable,” he wrote.

“With joint efforts we will definitely restore our beautiful ancient city and make it more comfortable, modern and prosperous,” the Ukrainian mayor said in the letter, which also expressed hopes for a close partnership with Taiwan in the future.

Taiwan’s US$500,000 donation, received on Aug. 4, will be directed to help with the restoration of two schools and a hospital in Chernihiv, the mayor said.

The city in northern Ukraine, which has a population of 285,000, is the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Ukrainan President Volodymyr Zelensky has conferred the honorary title of Hero City on some cities, including Chernihiv, which have put up a strong resistance to the Russian forces.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

A tour bus carrying 30 kindergarteners and two teachers caught fire at an interchange in Taoyuan on Thursday after one of its tires burst, firefighters said, adding that no passengers were injured.

The incident happened at 1:44 p.m. when the bus was passing through the Taoyuan Interchange on National Highway No. 1 en route to downtown Taoyuan, according to the Taoyuan Fire Department.

The vehicle caught on fire after its left rear tire burst, said the fire department, which was investigating the cause of the fire.

The passengers managed to reach safety after getting off the bus by themselves, it said, adding that the fire was put out at around 2 p.m.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

The government’s decision to raise the minimum wage for live-in migrant caregivers and domestic helpers may help to ease the current labor shortage, but it does little to make Taiwan an internationally competitive destination for such workers, a labor rights activist told CNA.

The new policy, which was announced by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Wednesday, raises the monthly minimum wage for migrant domestic workers from NT$17,000 (US$567) to NT$20,000 — an increase of over 17 percent but still well below the NT$25,250 minimum wage for Taiwanese workers.

Notably, the wage hike applies only to newly arrived migrant workers and those currently in Taiwan who sign a new contract from Aug. 10, but does not affect workers with existing contracts.

Chen Hsiu-lien (???), a member of the Taiwan International Workers’ Association (TIWA), told CNA that while the raise may help attract workers in the short term, it fails to address the real reasons Taiwan has struggled to recruit caregivers on the international labor market.

To improve Taiwan’s competitiveness, live-in migrant workers need to receive the same minimum wage and labor protections as Taiwanese, and employers should also provide better working conditions, she said.

According to Chen, a monthly salary of NT$20,000 is still “extremely low,” considering that by the MOL’s own calculations, migrant domestic workers are on the clock for an average of 13 hours a day.

If employers are unable to pay the types of salaries needed to recruit and retain these workers, the government needs to consider using more of its long-term healthcare budget to subsidize them, she said.

Chang Heng-yen (???), an advisor to a group that advocates for disabled families and employers of migrant domestic workers, said the wage hike only affects the immediate problem of recruiting new workers.

What it does not address is the more pressing issue of worker retention, she said, as live-in caregivers frequently choose to leave their positions for higher-paying factory jobs.

What employers care about is not the amount of the raise but that it is introduced in stages, thereby giving workers an incentive to stay in their jobs, Chang added.

Meanwhile, the MOL on Thursday reminded employers who previously raised their migrant domestic workers’ salaries above NT$20,000, that they cannot unilaterally cut their pay back down to the minimum wage.

Making any changes to a worker’s employment contract without the consent of both parties is punishable by fines, as well as the potential revocation of one’s permit to employ foreign workers, MOL official Chuang Kuo-liang (???) said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taipei prosecutors on Thursday indicted 109 suspects in a case of medical insurance fraud that allegedly involved the Dianthus Medical Group, some of its patients, and several insurance sales agents.

The suspects charged with fraud and document forgery included Dianthus Medical Group CEO Lin Tzu-hung (???), four doctors and other medical personnel employed with the company, and 19 insurance agents, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office said.

In addition, 80 mothers who had been patients at Dianthus were among the 109 people indicted in the medical insurance fraud case, prosecutors said.

According to the Dianthus website, the group currently operates 12 clinics in Taiwan — 10 in Taipei and two in Taoyuan — that specialize in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM), gynecology, obstetrics, pediatrics, dentistry and ophthalmology.

Prosecutors said they launched an investigation into the operations of the medical company after Hontai Life Insurance reported earlier this year that it had found discrepancies in many of the claims filed by Dianthus patients.

The claims, which were specific to five Dianthus clinics, were based on false medical information, with the aim of obtaining private insurance reimbursements, prosecutors said.

For instance, they said, women were allegedly submitting insurance claims for unavoidable cesarean (C-section) deliveries, when in fact they had opted to give birth by that means, prosecutors said.

The insurance claims falsely cited childbirth complications such as “malpresentation of the fetus” that required C-section surgery, prosecutors said.

The 19 insurance sales agents charged on Thursday had allegedly colluded with Dianthus in such cases, in a bid to gain customers, according to prosecutors.

The case involved 10 insurance companies, and the gains from the alleged fraud and forgery amounted to some NT$67 million (US$2.23 million, prosecutors said.

On Thursday, the Taipei District Prosecutors office said it will be seeking harsh penalties for Lin and the other four doctors in the case, as they had tarnished the reputation of physicians and the medical insurance system nationwide.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

WASHINGTON —

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded on Wednesday a whirlwind visit to Taiwan that was warmly welcomed by the Taiwanese government and seen by Beijing as a “major political provocation” and a challenge to China’s sovereignty.

China said punishment for the United States and Taiwan would follow. Here’s what Beijing has done so far.

On the diplomatic front: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned Pelosi’s visit as a violation of the “one China” policy, according to Chinese state media CGTN. He told reporters on the sideline of an ASEAN meeting in Cambodia that “those who offend China will be punished.” Yet when asked Wednesday in a daily briefing about what punishment was planned, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying responded by asking “for some additional patience and confidence.”

On Tuesday night as Pelosi landed in Taipei, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Feng called in Nicholas Burns, the American ambassador in Beijing, to protest the visit. China’s state Xinhua News Agency quoted Xie as saying that “the United States says one thing, does another,” and “uses any means to play the ‘Taiwan card.’ ”

On the military front: China’s People’s Liberation Army said it would be conducting live-fire drills Thursday through Sunday on six swaths of sea surrounding Taiwan, according to CGTN. Hua Chunying, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Wednesday this was to “dialogue with the U.S. and the Taiwan separatist forces in a language they can understand.”

The large-scale drill could mark a new stage of brinkmanship. A spokesman for Taiwan’s defense ministry, Major General Sun Li-fang, said Wednesday that Taiwan would resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and national security but would not irrationally escalate conflicts. “We prepare for war, but we do not seek it,” he said.

On the economic front: China has unleashed a slew of retaliatory restrictions aimed at Taiwan.

On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced it had suspended natural sand exports to Taiwan, without specifying why. China’s Xinhua News Agency quoted a ministry spokesperson as saying the suspension was “in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.”

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Wednesday that it would suspend imports of grapefruit, lemons, oranges and other citrus fruits from Taiwan. China’s General Administration of Customs said the products had been found to contain pests and excessive pesticides residue on multiple occasions.

Source: Voice of America

Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture (COA) said Tuesday that China had temporarily halted imports of products from multiple Taiwanese food companies, in a move that is being viewed in some quarters as retaliation for the expected visit of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In a press release, the COA said it learned of the import suspensions on Monday and was still working to determine how many companies had been affected.

Currently, the COA has confirmed that the blacklisted companies include producers of tea leaves, dried fruits, honey, cocoa beans, and vegetables, as well as catches from around 700 fishing vessels, the agency said.

The official reason for the suspension appears to be related to companies’ compliance with a new customs registration system that Chinese authorities introduced in April of last year, according to the COA.

Data from China’s General Administration of Customs, however, suggests that multiple Taiwanese companies whose registration status is up to date have also been affected by the ban.

On its website, the customs administration lists a total of 107 registered Taiwanese brands under the category “crackers, pastries and noodles,” of which 35 companies are currently labeled “imports temporarily suspended,” despite having up-to-date registration.

The suspended brands include the pastry store chains Kuo Yuan Ye (???) and Yu Jan Shin (???), as well as the popular snack food manufacturer Kuai Kuai (??).

In response to the move, a Cabinet official told CNA Tuesday that the COA and Ministry of Economic Affairs were continuing to clarify the extent of the ban and would provide necessary assistance to the affected companies.

In Taiwan, China’s decision to halt imports of the food products is being viewed by some as a form of retaliation by Beijing for Pelosi’s expected visit to the island later on Tuesday.

The reported visit, which has prompted Beijing to warn of “forceful measures” in response, would be the first by a U.S. House speaker since Republican Newt Gingrich traveled to the island in 1997.

China previously suspended imports of Taiwanese grouper in June and of pineapples, wax apples, and sugar apples last year, citing reasons such as excess chemical residues and crop pests.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Taiwanese processed food exports to China and Hong Kong in 2021 totaled US$646.21 million and accounted for 32 percent of the total exports in that category.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Filipino healthcare information management companies are spearheading the Philippine pavilion at a biotechnology trade show in Taipei with the goal of forging partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and other enterprises in Taiwan.

At the 2022 BIO Asia-Taiwan International Conference and Exhibition, which opened on Thursday, two Philippine companies are among the 550 exhibitors from some 15 countries that are seeking to explore business opportunities with Taiwan’s biotech sector, according to the event organizers.

Anthony B. Rivera, director for commercial affairs at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC-Taipei), said he is looking to develop engagements with the Taiwan market as it connects to other global markets engaged in health information management services (HIMS).

“The Philippines is known globally as a significant source for quality and innovative healthcare related services. This is a great opportunity to promote our bio and healthcare related capabilities to the major players in the Asian healthcare value chain,” Rivera said.

The Philippine companies, Pointwest Technologies Inc. and Pi Health Inc.-PiVOT CRO, featured curated healthcare solutions and services such as clinical trial management for drugs and medical devices, revenue cycle management, end-to-end pharmacovigilance services, clinical data management, cloud migration, and robotic process automation services among others as required by global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and contract research companies, according to PTIC-Taipei.

Juanloz L. Botor from healthcare information technology company Pointwest Technologies told CNA that it was the first time his company was attending BIO Asia-Taiwan and that he was looking for companies to collaborate with in terms of sharing their technology capabilities and expertise.

“And also see if there will be partners that we can work with and probably bring the services of Filipino professionals who are skilled in data management, adverse reaction reporting, and support,” Botor said.

Meanwhile, Pi Health Inc.-PiVOT CRO’s pharmacovigilance and regulatory lead Charles Suarez said that PiVOT is a contract research organization, which currently has 10 active studies.

“We hope to make it big here in Taiwan, even though PiVOT is a startup but can show them the ability of PiVOT to support international trials, international pharmacovigilance, and data management,” Suarez told CNA.

The HIMS sector is projected to see its revenue grow by 7.3 percent to 10 percent to US$5 billion in 2022, according to the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) under the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry.

The Philippines aims to become a destination for integrated services for voice and non-voice, as well as clinical and non-clinical trials of which the local sector is expanding to areas such as life sciences, robotics, and big data to fully support a proactive and world class end-to-end customer service experience, according to EMB Director Christopher Lawrence S. Arnuco.

“The Philippine service providers have showcased an innate culture of care and capabilities and this is why we aim to venture in new markets starting off with Taiwan,” Arnuco said.

Bio Asia Taiwan, being held from July 27-31 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, also features internationally renowned speakers, forums and workshops and one-on-one business meetings.

The event brings together biotechnology and pharmaceutical executives and investors from North America, Europe, and Asia, according to information on the event’s website.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel