Days could be numbered for weak yen

Days could be numbered for weak yen

2024-03-11

If you’ve been wanting to book a bargain vacation to Japan, do it now before it’s too late. Japan’s negative interest rate policy is expected to end, as early as March 19. That would lead to a rise in the Japanese yen, and a decline in the purchasing power of Taiwan’s currency.

The news is already driving a rise in the yen. On Monday at the Bank of Taiwan, the Japanese currency hit a high of NT$0.218. That’s the most expensive it’s been in nearly two months. Put in another way – if you had exchanged NT$100,000 just one month ago, you would have gotten an additional 12,000 yen. Experts say that if you’re in the market for yen, considering acting fast, and keep an eye on the Bank of Japan’s next moves.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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日本央行考慮結束負利率日圓換匯0.218元寫下近2月最貴

2024-03-11

想換日圓的民眾，恐怕要加緊腳步了！隨著日本企業可能在4月大幅加薪，日本央行考慮將結束負利率緩解通膨，連帶造成日圓升值。

根據台銀今天(11)的現鈔賣出價，最高來到0.218元，寫下近2個月以來最貴紀錄，以新台幣10萬元換匯為例，與2月中最低點0.2121元相比，少了1.2萬日圓。專家建議，如果有日圓需求，建議近期換匯，隨時留意日本央行的動態。

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CNN gets up close with TSMC

U.S. news outlet CNN was recently welcomed into TSMC, after trying to get access for two years. Reporter Will Ripley got up close with the company’s high-end technology, and took a stroll through the newcomer training center. During an interview, a top executive shared the company’s “secret weapon” for success.

Voice of Will Ripley
CNN Taiwan correspondent
Nearly all the world’s most advanced chips are made in one place, the small island-democracy of Taiwan.

U.S. news outlet CNN visited a TSMC facility in Taichung. With a market cap of US$671 billion, TSMC has been named one of the most important companies in the world, the reporter said. During an interview, TSMC Chair Mark Liu said the company’s “secret weapon” was Taiwan’s talent.

Mark Liu
TSMC chair
With a lot of people invest a lot of time in their education. Looking from outside it appears to be a miracle. Every place have to take advantage of their strengths. Not to just copy other people’s strengths when it was your weakness.

Will Ripley
CNN Taiwan correspondent
So you believe that it will strengthen TSMC and Taiwan to build these fabs.

Lora Ho
TSMC senior vice president
We can prove to the world we can run this highly sophisticated manufacturing everywhere.

CNN also covered TSMC’s global expansion. It noted the company’s labor challenges in the U.S. and Germany, and said that TSMC had just opened a plant in Kumamoto, Japan. It said TSMC was on the verge of producing a 1.4 nanometer chip.

Voice of Fareed Zakaria
CNN news anchor
Microchips are the oil of the 21st century. And if Taiwan is attacked, the whole world could grind to a halt, plunging in to a global great depression.

Another report focused on TSMC founder Morris Chang, saying he transformed Taiwan’s history. The report described TSMC as a “silicon shield” for Taiwan, pointing out that 90% of the world’s advanced chips are made on the island.

Joseph Wu
Foreign minister
TSMC is going to be a deterrence against the idea of aggression against Taiwan.

TSMC has garnered attention around the world, highlighting the key position of Taiwan’s semiconductors in global geopolitics.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-03-11

Tsai thanks Washington-based scholars for attention to Taiwan

2024-03-11

NDC starts renovation of Cold War housing in Taipei’s Zhongshan

Taiwan has launched the renovation of a U.S. dormitory complex in Taipei’s Zhongshan District. The homes were built 71 years ago, for U.S. civilian personnel sent to Taiwan during the Cold War. Now in a state of disrepair, the dorms will be renovated and repurposed in a project by the National Development Council.

A cozy Western cottage with Japanese roof tiling. Step in the door to find a living room with a fireplace, three spacious bedrooms, an American-style kitchen, and ample storage on the side. This dorm was built by the KMT for U.S. officials 71 years ago. It’s about to get a new lease on life through a restoration project.

Kung Ming-hsin
National Development Council minister
The renovation won’t alter the buildings’ exteriors, which will continue to testify to American support for Taiwan. But there will be changes on the inside. We will tear down all the walls you see now to create an open space. This space will no longer be used only by personnel of the National Development Fund and the National Development Council. It will be open to all borough residents.

This dormitory complex offers a glimpse into history. In 1949, the KMT government moved to Taiwan, and the Korean War broke out the next year. Seeking to unify the region against the Communist threat, the U.S. sent military, economic, and technical support to Taiwan. This led to the construction of the dorms in 1953. The homes were initially used by American officials, as well as personnel of the Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction. After the U.S. cut ties with Taiwan in 1979, they were used by personnel of the AIT. To the north of the cluster is Taipei’s first American school. There’s also Zhongshan Girls High School, which was established during the Japanese colonial period. Jianguo Brewery is another landmark in this historically important neighborhood.

Jeremy Cornforth
AIT deputy director
This ceremony is a testimony to the long-standing and robust ties between the United States and Taiwan. Since that time, Taiwan has developed into a model advanced economy and a vibrant democracy, and the United States-Taiwan partnership has steadily deepened.

There are old American dormitories all across Taiwan. The best-known ones in the north include the Yangmingshan military housing and the civilian accommodations on Chang’an East Road and Longjiang Road. Similar accommodations can be found along Taichung’s Meicun Road and Kaohsiung Zuoying District. Taiwan officials say the goal is to eventually preserve them all, so that they can continue to bear witness to history.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-03-11

Spotlight on Taiwanese visual artist, Mia Liu

Today we take you to meet Taiwanese visual artist Mia Liu. Her works range from paper sculpture to spatial installation, drawing, photography, video installation, and more. She is currently showcasing her works at a zero-waste fashion exhibition in Taipei. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to Liu to find out more about her works.

This work is called "Beard has a Face." Mia Liu’s work was inspired by Hong Kong writer Xixi. She used pen, acrylic paint, french watercolor paper, denim fabric, mulberry paper, crayon, and aluminum panel mounting to create the piece. Liu is exhibiting her works at a zero-waste fashion exhibition in Taipei till April.

Mia Liu
Visual artist
This work is called “Beard Has a Face.” What is unique about this work is that you can see that there is a denim circle on the outside. It is a special denim cloth. I read a novel by the late Hong Kong writer Xixi. The novel is about "Beard Has a Face” – which is the name of a person. This person is very interesting and often asks, "Why do the tables touch the chairs?" When I was working on this piece, I thought, maybe we can imagine something different and put cloth and paper together.

Liu is a visual artist from Taiwan. Her works have been exhibited throughout Asia, America, and Europe. Her works range from paper sculpture, and drawing, to spatial installation, photography, video installation, botanical sculpture, and more. Over the past few years, Liu has been exploring how contemporary textiles can fuse with traditional painting and calligraphy.

Mia Liu
Visual artist
In the works behind me, the ink paintings you see are antique paintings that I found in flea markets at various places, including Kyoto, Tokyo, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. This is my hobby. I like to find things that have been used by people in flea markets or forgotten things. When I saw these antique paintings, I felt very touched. I took the old paintings back to Taiwan, found a great restorer to help me repair them, and then framed them again.

After her Taipei exhibition concludes, Liu will exhibit her works in London from May 16 till 19.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-03-11

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NTU Hospital breaks ground on NT$2.6 billion dormitory in Taipei

National Taiwan University Hospital is building a state-of-the-art employee dormitory for staff, right in the heart of Taipei. The dorm costs NT$2.6 billion to build, and is expected to be operational by 2028. At the project’s groundbreaking ceremony, hospital administrators said the complex will improve employees’ quality of life. Parents will be able to take advantage of an onsite preschool and daycare, so that they can focus fully on their jobs.

Wielding golden shovels, National Taiwan University President Chen Wen-chang and other administrators break ground on new staff dormitory.

To improve employee welfare, NTU Hospital is building a new dormitory on Ren’ai Road, inside the Bo’ai Special Zone in Taipei.

Wu Ming-shiang
NTU Hospital superintendent
Of course, I’d like to thank NTU Hospital’s former superintendents for their foresight.
This land used to belong to the National Property Administration. We expect construction to wrap up and the building to open in 2028.

The building, which will cost NT$2.6 billion, will have three underground levels and 15 above-ground floors. It will provide 732 beds for medical staff on rotating shifts, in single rooms, double rooms and studio apartments. The building will also have an exercise facility. Taipei health chief Chen Yen-yuan, formerly a doctor at NTU Hospital, says the dormitory will help with employee retention.

Chen Yen-yuan
Taipei Department of Health
Dormitory living is not what it used to be – the wellbeing of employees is now a top priority. As we all know, the building will be on Ren’ai Road, where every inch of land is precious.

Wu Ming-shiang
NTU Hospital superintendent
There are a lot of young workers at NTU Hospital, and we’d like to encourage them to have children. So the building will have a preschool and a daycare so that their families are well tended to.

NTU Hospital says it hopes to provide young medical professionals with a quality home, so that they can focus on their careers while enjoying life in a prime urban location.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-03-11

HPA urges parents to keep kids off devices to protect their eye health

More than 60% of Taiwanese people are shortsighted. The Health Promotion Administration has launched a new campaign to encourage parents to pay more attention to kids’ eye health in the early years. Until the age of 12, children have what is known as a “hyperopia reserve.” That means they start will good eyesight which may deteriorate. But good eyesight can be prolonged with good habits. Taking breaks from screens and spending lots of time outdoors are the main tips for protecting eye health.

A preschooler leads his parents in a performance of the “Eye Health Bop.”

Preschooler
In the lyrics, it teaches us how to look after our eyes.

Parent
The lyrics tell us that we need to go outside often and stay off digital devices.

The “Eye Health Bop” includes lines with tips on eye care and health habits to cultivate. For every 30 minutes you work on a screen, rest your eyes for 10 minutes. Spend at least two hours outdoors every day. The song is highlighting the importance of eye health for children and parents.

Wei Hsi-lun
Health promotion Administration deputy head
Almost every child has what we call a hyperopia reserve. That’s why we always want children of preschool or school age to delay the onset of shortsightedness. That reduces the risk of extreme shortsightedness in the future.

Many people get shortsighted in childhood. On average the degree will increase by 75 to 100 degrees every year, eventually impacting life and study capacities. How can you prevent that? Families have a lot of influence in how they bring up and educate their kids.

Yeh Yu-ching
Professor of early childhood education, NCYU
Don’t give them devices. You want to delay the use of phones for as long as possible. If they don’t use them in preschool, they can always use them at elementary school. If they don’t use them at elementary school, they can use them in junior high. I think that delaying it as much as possible is an extremely important point. Secondly, you must spend time with your children. When children feel bored, they actually need someone there, a family member to spend time with them.

A survey by the Health Promotion Administration shows that spending more than 11 hours outdoors per week will reduce the incidence of developing shortsightedness within one year by 55%. But in this age of technology, more and more pre-school children are using digital devices. Caring for our eyesight is lifelong. Helping kids develop good habits could protect them from extreme shortsightedness for life.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-03-11

Study links height of pillow to elevated risk of stroke

A new study suggests that the height of your pillow might be connected to your risk of stroke. The study from Japan found that people with high pillows had up to 10 times the risk of stroke than average. But while some doctors hold store in the pillow theory, others say that stroke risk can’t yet be categorically linked to such choices. They say that paying attention to risk factors like blood pressure should come first.

“A good night’s sleep guarantees good health.” It’s a saying grounded in good evidence. A Japanese study has suggested that sleeping on a pillow that’s too high can raise the risk of stroke, a conclusion corroborated by this Taiwanese cardiologist.

Lin Wei-wen
Taiwan Adventist Hospital cardiologist
We all know that if you sleep on too high a pillow, because your neck is bent for a long time, it can have an impact on blood vessels in our necks, such as carotid arteries or vertebral arteries.

The study looked at patients of spontaneous vertical artery dissection or VAD. It found that pillows over 12 centimeters high increased the risk of VAD by 289%. A pillow over 15 centimeters high increased the risk by over 1,000%. VAD is a rare cause of stroke. But the firmness of the pillow also plays a role, as well as its composition – memory foam, down, or otherwise. People have widely differing preferences about pillows.

Li Shih-chen
FTV reporter
There are hundreds of different types of pillows on the market. How should you choose? Doctors suggest that support for the neck is the most important thing.

This physiatrist recommends that your neck should be able to rest on the pillow so that it can relax fully. If your sleep quality is poor, insomnia and a stiff neck are common symptoms, alongside many other minor and more serious ailments. But more data is still needed to prove a link between the height of your pillow and the risk of stroke.

Chung Pei-chen
Taiwan Adventist Hospital physiatry
Your pillow and your risk of stroke are two separate things. Regarding the debate about stroke, we should find the risk factors, for example, does the person have high blood pressure, diabetes, and so on.

Doctors also recommend that while many people sleep however they hit the mattress, when you get up, you should avoid rising too suddenly. Roll onto your side first, put both your feet onto the floor and then get up slowly. That will protect your vertebra and prevent pulls to your lower back. All that – and a good pillow – might be a recipe for a bright and bushy-tailed morning.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-03-11

Video exhibition explores Indonesia’s colonial past

Indonesian artist Timoteus Anggawan Kusno is holding a video exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei. He’s showing two video works exploring Indonesia’s colonial past. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to the exhibit’s curator to learn more.

Using bamboo props in the shape of horses, the dancers chant and communicate with ancestral spirits.

The performance takes place in a former villa of the Dutch elites who controlled Indonesia’s sugar industry. This is one of the video works created by Indonesian artist Timoteus Anggawan Kusno. Through this work, he tells the story of Indonesia’s past and the effects of the sugar industry on local society and culture.

Violet Lin
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei
He collaborated with local Indonesian dancers. For the artist, communicating with the ancestral spirits is a bit like having a dialogue with the local history of Indonesia. Through the video, he hopes to use dialogue with spirits to explore local Indonesian history. The video also draws inspiration from Indonesia’s own elements. Indonesia was ruled by the West in the 19th century, including by the Dutch. The footage delves into the sugar industry, which was developed during the Dutch colonial period, showing the villas where high-ranking officials lived and sugarcane fields.

Another video work was shot on a railway built during the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia. The artist included archival footages of the Dutch colonization, political propaganda, and past totalitarian regimes. The exhibition aims to provide a deeper understanding of the period of political transition in Indonesia and the country’s colonial culture.

Violet Lin
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei
Using railway imagery, the artist simulates the colonizers’ perspective on Indonesia. Although these colonial and authoritarian cultures are no longer part of Indonesia today, there are still traces of memories and indelible relics remaining in the fabric of daily life.

The exhibition will be on show until April 21 at MOCA in Taipei.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

2024-03-11