President Tsai thanks US for vaccine donations at Mets Taiwan Day

President Tsai thanks US for vaccine donations at Mets Taiwan Day

2022-08-29

In a prerecorded message, President Tsai Ing-wen gave an address at the New York Mets Taiwan Day on Aug. 28. The baseball team has been celebrating the day every year in New York, since 2005. In the video, Tsai introduced former baseball player Peng Cheng-min from the CTBC Brothers in Taiwan. Let’s hear what she said.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
Hi, Mets fans! It’s wonderful to see you all again, on this year’s Mets Taiwan Day. I’m sure that baseball fans in Taiwan and the U.S. are all enjoying being back at the ballpark, with life returning to normal as the pandemic subsides. Taiwan’s professional baseball league has been going for 33 years now. Over the years our teams have developed large fan bases as well as their own unique cheerleading squads and team cheers. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the U.S. for donating 4 million vaccine doses to Taiwan. Through such generosity we were able to overcome the pandemic and get back to our beloved baseball games. Today, I want to introduce a Taiwanese baseball player who once represented us in the World Baseball Classic. Peng Cheng-min. But I just call him “Chia Chia.” He captained the national team in so many games that he is also known as “Captain Taiwan.”

Peng threw the ceremonial first pitch at the annual event, wearing CTBC baseball jersey emblazoned with his number, 23. He is the first player of Taiwan’s professional baseball league to do so. As for the baseball game itself, the New York Mets lost to the Colorado Rockies 0-1.

大都會台灣日彭政閔開球蔡總統:感謝美捐疫苗

2022-08-29

一年一度的紐約大都會台灣日，29號凌晨登場，今年由已退役的中職超人氣球星"恰恰"彭政閔，穿上23號兄弟球衣開球，總統蔡英文透過影片參與。

[[總統蔡英文]]
“哈囉紐約大都會的球迷們，很高興在今年的「大都會台灣日」，再次與大家見面，相信台灣和美國的球迷都很開心，隨著疫情和緩後恢復正常生活，大家可以回到球場看球，台灣的職業棒球聯盟，至今已有33年歷史，各隊累積了不少忠實的球迷，也發展出各有特色的啦啦隊與加油方式。我要藉著這個機會，再次感謝美國捐贈台灣400萬劑疫苗，因為你們的慷慨協助，讓我們得以度過疫情，再次在球場享受比賽，今天我也要向大家介紹一位，過去曾經代表台灣出賽WBC的選手彭政閔，我都叫他「恰恰」，他曾經多次擔任，台灣國家棒球隊的隊長，所以我們也常稱他是「台灣隊長」”

「紐約大都會台灣日」活動始於2005年，今年選在科羅拉多落磯與紐約大都會4連戰最後一場賽事中進行，首位獲邀的中職代表彭政閔走上紐約大都會花旗球場投手丘，為台灣日開出精彩好球。

Related News

Schools getting ready to start another school year with COVID

It’s almost time to get back to school, and education centers around Taiwan are taking the last steps before yet another school year with COVID. Class cancelation rules are due to be relaxed two weeks into the new term, so that students who test negative in rapid tests can continue attending classes as normal. Experts say that though Taiwan is expected to see another COVID wave in September, this time it will be the BA.5 subvariant, which tends to cause milder symptoms.

Students go through temperature checks, to ensure none of them have a fever. This is Taipei’s Shezi Elementary School. With classes starting tomorrow, COVID preparations are in full swing.

Chu Jung-fu
Shezi Elementary School principal
It’s almost the start of the new school year, so of course, disinfection is a must. We have enough test kits, face masks and cleaning supplies, as well as forehead and ear thermometers.

COVID school closure regulations will remain unchanged for the first two weeks of class. That means that classes will be canceled for three days if any positives are found in class. Then, starting Sept. 12, regulations will change. Students who test positive will still have to isolate at home for seven days. But any contacts, including people they’ve in close proximity to without face masks for at least 15 minutes will be able to continue going to school if they test negative in a rapid test.

Ms. Chen
Shezi Elementary School PTA
Over the past two years of COVID, the school has conveyed health protocols very well, and the parent-teacher association has abided by the rules too. The school implemented COVID measures and was clear in its communication with the parent-teacher association, so we were up-to-date. We’re not worried.

Experts say a new wave of local COVID infections driven by the BA.5 omicron subvariant could peak in September.

Lin Ying-jan
Taiwan Primary Care Association
The BA.5 subvariant is a different kind of virus. So it will definitely replace the BA.2 subvariant, kicking off a new wave. Schools are a place where people gather, so there is a higher likelihood for infection. BA.5 infections tend to be rather mild, so the government is still willing to ease regulations.

With local COVID cases on the rise, demand for rapid tests is going up. Starting Sept. 1, people aged 65 and up are entitled to receive five rapid tests from more than 4,600 pharmacies nationwide, by just presenting their NHI card. Meanwhile, experts call on parents to get their young kids vaccinated to reduce the risk of infection and severe symptoms.

2022-08-29

Taiwan shares plummet below 15,000-point mark amid expected Fed rate hikes

2022-08-29

Latest technology applications on show at 2022 Meet Greater South in Kaohsiung

The Department of Industrial Technology was one of the participants at this year’s 2022 Meet Greater South expo in Kaohsiung. The department brought over R&D institutes and startups developing innovations in the fields of 5G, artificial intelligence and the internet of things. The DoIT says the event was a success, as a startup team it nurtured secured orders with three major steel and petrochemical companies. Meanwhile, the Industrial Technology Research Institute signed an MOU with a local convenience store to install autonomous mobile robots that can deliver meals right to workers’ offices.

The Department of Industrial Technology under the Ministry of Economic Affairs was one of many participants at the 2022 Meet Greater South expo at Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. On Day 1 of the event, the department announced some good news.

Chiou Chyou-huey
Department of Industrial Technology
On the first day of the event, we immediately heard that the startup team we nurtured has secured order from three companies. That’s just on Day 1. I think this proves that Southern Taiwan has great potential for developing innovations.

The Department of Industrial Technology says a startup team that it had nurtured had secured orders from major steel and petrochemical enterprises in Kaohsiung. At the expo, ITRI showcased its newly developed autonomous mobile robot. It’s the first vehicle of its kind in Taiwan capable of transporting meals indoors and outdoors and calling elevators autonomously. The robot has caught the eye of a delivery platform operated by a convenience store chain. The developers and the retailer signed an MOU to implement the technology at Kaohsiung Software Technology Park, so that employees can order food online and get it delivered by robot straight to their offices.

Chiou Chyou-huey
Department of Industrial Technology
Over the next four years, we will invest NT$10.6 billion on technologies and innovations at the Asia New Bay Area 5G AIoT Innovative Park. It’s not just innovative technology. We also hope to turn the Asia New Bay Area into a smart-living park. Already, 11 companies from home and abroad are bringing their most innovative 5G AIoT technologies to the Asia New Bay Area, attracting more than NT$12 billion in R&D investment.

ITRI, the Institute for Information Industry, the Metal Industries Research and Development Centre and the Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center were just some of the exhibitors showcasing their latest developments, with developers putting forward more than 23 technologies they hope to implement in Southern Taiwan. In addition, 13 startups took part in the event, to find a future for 5G and AIoT technologies in industries in Southern Taiwan.

2022-08-29

Zhubei City baffled by the mystery of trees with band of yellowed leaves

2022-08-29

Election candidates hold campaign events and start election registration

Registration for Taiwan’s upcoming local elections opened on Monday. Though campaigning events began in modest months ago, they are now in full swing. Among the candidates that registered for the election on Monday were DPP Taoyuan mayoral candidate Cheng Yun-peng, who was escorted by the current mayor of Taoyuan and even Premier Su Tseng-chang.

The DPP’s last candidate to be nominated for the November local elections, Taoyuan mayoral candidate Cheng Yun-peng, on Monday became the party’s first candidate to register for the race.

Cheng Yun-peng
DPP Taoyuan mayoral candidate
I want to tell everyone that we will assemble our team in the shortest time possible, and I will slowly become Cheng Wen-tsan 2.0. The KMT has encountered a lot of turmoil in this pre-election period, and so they are looking at the Taoyuan mayor, who represents a turning point for the DPP. They have a lot of cold words for others, but it’s clear that the KMT doesn’t have the support base in Taoyuan that they thought they had.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
Cheng Yun-peng has been a legislator for many years. He has comprehensive experience, is rich in academic achievements, and he’s full of energy, humorous and interesting.

Former DPP Legislator Cheng Pao-ching had expressed strong interest in running for Taoyuan mayor, but Premier Su Tseng-chang has confidence in Cheng’s Yun-peng’s chances at the election win. Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan has also expressed support for Cheng Yun-peng, saying his campaign chances are greater than people realize. Meanwhile, the DPP’s candidate for Taichung also registered for the election on Monday.

Tsai Chi-chang
DPP Taichung mayoral candidate
I can’t wait to tell the people of Taichung – to take action. Our city can’t wait any longer. I feel that a municipal government’s implementation of policies should be like a relay race. When a runner is particularly slow in passing on the baton, then the next runner has to pick up the slack, and make up for the last runner’s lost time.

Tsai also had strong support at Monday’s campaign event. Alongside current local lawmakers, former legislators Chen Po-wei and Hung Tzu-yung were also on hand to rally voters. Meanwhile, DPP Keelung mayoral hopeful Tsai Shih-ying had the backing of Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang, as well as 13 of the city’s councilors.

Tsai Shih-ying
DPP Keelung mayoral candidate
Mayor Lin Yu-chang being here to support me, as well as all of our candidates, shows that the efforts over the past eight years of the central government to cooperate with the local governments, has earned the approval of Keelung residents.

Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Ann Kao found support in Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s mother, Ho Jui-ying, who accompanied the Hsinchu mayoral hopeful to register.

Ann Kao
TPP Hsinchu mayoral candidate
A new city government, to put city residents’ hearts at ease. If we get elected, we will ensure better public participation in the Hsinchu City’s governance. Only then will our city be upgraded.

With local election candidates lining up to register, campaigns are now in full swing, and politicians former and current are out there throwing their weight behind their candidates of choice.

2022-08-29

Criminal records of local politicians revealed by anti-corruption NGO

A new website reveals the criminal records of Taiwan’s local politicians for the first time. Data from news and court records was put together to create the database of city and county councilors’ histories. It’s a project from the non-profit Taiwan Anti-corruption and Whistleblower Protection Association. TAWPA found that 15% of Taiwan’s sitting local representatives have a criminal conviction.

Huang Kuo-chang
TAWPA secretary-general
His birth name was Hsu Hsiang-ming, and then it was first changed to Hsu Ping-hua. Only after the second name change did it become Hsu Hsiu-jui. And under the previous names there were records of him identified as linked to organized crime, to violent organizations, criminal organizations.

Secretary-general of TAWPA Huang Kuo-chang presents data about the criminal records of sitting local government representatives. The records have been compiled by trawling through media reportage and court records.

Huang Kuo-chang
TAWPA secretary-general
There are representatives implicated in the Firearms and Ammunitions Control Act, including Tuan Shu-wen and Chang Chin-kun, who was given a prison sentence for a shooting incident. Tainan city councilor Kuo Ching-hua was also convicted of carrying a firearm under that Act.

TAWPA has a new webpage listing the criminal records of political candidates of all stripes from across Taiwan. The records of all sitting representatives can be accessed at the click of a finger.

Cheng Shen-yuan
TAWPA
Of course we can’t be sure how representatives will execute their duties in the future. But I think we can have objective standards to refer to in terms of their past and how they managed their behavior.

Chang Hung-lin
CitizenCongress Watch
Now that the TAWPA has provided this data, if people still want to buy into these candidates, then all I can say is, it’s Taiwan’s karma.

The statistics show that from 885 sitting local government representatives, 136 have criminal convictions – about 15%. TAWPA hopes the data will inform voters about politicians, but also inform political parties in their choice of electoral candidates. If they continue to nominate people with criminal histories, they’ll need to explain why.

2022-08-29

Taipei mayoral candidates comment on tackling capital’s housing problems

The issue of affordable housing has long been a challenge for the Taipei City government, and one that the incumbent administration has been criticized over. With the local elections just around the corner, the three candidates for Taipei mayor have given glimpses of how they would deal with the issue.

DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung attends the Imageable City exhibition, listening attentively as the curator explains an installation.

Chen was the first of the city’s three mayoral candidates to bring up the issue of urban renewal. Some of expressed curiosity over what his thoughts are on incumbent Mayor Ko Wen-je’s progress on the issue over eight years in office.

Chen Shih-chung
DPP Taipei mayoral candidate
We’ve come up with ideas, and have taken input from experts. The next step will be for us to get a better understanding of the issue, to discuss it with more people, and then we can implement rolling amendments. Any city government, including that of Mayor Ko will work on the issue a long time, and will certainly encounter difficulties. In terms of finding where the difficulties lay and figuring out how to overcome them – that’s not something that can be solved through just talking about it.

Taipei Deputy Mayor Huang Shan-shan is also now formally in the race, after she recently tendered her resignation. Huang has come under fire from the KMT, who criticized her advocacy for transcending party lines, calling her a political chameleon. The KMT says Huang is a fence sitter who reaps benefits from both sides of the political spectrum. Chen has not shared in these attacks on her.

Chen Shih-chung
DPP Taipei mayoral candidate
However she wants to change is up to her – everyone goes through changes. Using this to attack her as being a so-called chameleon is unfair, I feel. After all, within the pan-blue camp there are also some people who frequently change their stance on things.

The day after announcing her bid for mayor, Huang met with the operators of some smaller hotels to discuss a proposal. Huang suggested that older hotels could be renovated and converted into rental properties for older adults.

Huang Shan-shan
Independent Taipei mayor candidate
We would help older adults by managing their properties for them, and renting them out to younger people – and the rent would be comparable to that of social housing. I think this would be in line with our goals to implement housing justice.

The day before, Chen also issued a white paper on housing justice, saying the city should build 50,000 social-housing units within four years. However, Huang disagreed with the idea.

Huang Shan-shan
Independent Taipei mayor candidate
Social housing isn’t something you can just call for today, and then tomorrow it will appear. Why do we need to cooperate with private companies? Because the city spent eight years trying its best to build more social housing complexes, we really tried very hard to build them, but building social housing is not that simple. The neighbors always have so many opinions on the matter.

Huang held a press conference on the issue of social housing. But critics say she didn’t handle the issue well as deputy mayor and that she would just become another Mayor Ko. Seeing the criticisms against Huang emerge, fellow candidate Chiang Wan-an from the KMT seized the opportunity to express his stance.

Chiang Wan-an
KMT Taipei mayoral candidate
Having young and old switch housing would be a win-win scenario. The Taipei government previously said it already had been working on it, but they actually didn’t start until March this year – and nothing has been implemented. If the government is going to handle urban renewal, we have to expand capacity and lower the threshold, and the government has to get involved as soon as possible.

With three candidates now in the race for Taipei mayor, things are heating up. The candidates have already faced off over the issue of housing, and given voters a glimpse of their policies on a key issue.

2022-08-29

How paper wasps and hornets build their nests to handle the Taiwanese climate

2022-08-29

Taiwan Strait transit consistent with US ‘One China’ policy: White House security official

2022-08-29