VP-elect Hsiao announces return to Taiwan after Europe trip

VP-elect Hsiao announces return to Taiwan after Europe trip

2024-03-27

Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim is back after her trip to Europe. She announced her return home on Tuesday, posting to the social media platform Threads. She wrote that her cats had parked themselves between her and the documents she was reading, as if in protest. Although the post did not include a photo, it’s still received more than 13,000 Likes.

Hsiao flew out to Washington in the middle of March for a low-key personal trip. After that she headed to Europe at the invitation of a think tank. She met a number of key political figures, including Reinhard Butikofer, the chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with China. Hsiao was also invited to visit the European Parliament, where she was welcomed by more than 30 MEPs including First Vice-President Othmar Karas.

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蕭美琴回台灣了! Threads發文愛貓"卡位"抗議

2024-03-27

副總統當選人蕭美琴結束歐洲行程返台，她透過社群平台Threads發文報平安，文中也透露愛貓向她抗議，她說，家裡的貓咪就一定要來坐在她正在看的文件資料中間，感覺是在佔領抗議什麼。貼文雖然沒附圖，但仍吸引破萬人按讚。

蕭美琴三月中低調訪歐，受歐洲智庫邀請，拜會多國重要政治人物，在比利時會晤，歐洲議會對中國關係代表團團長包瑞翰。蕭美琴還受邀訪問歐洲議會，獲第一副議長卡拉斯及超過30名歐洲議會領袖、重量級議員親自接待，創下我國副總統當選人首例。

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2 dead, 4 critically ill after eating at chain restaurant in Taipei

An outbreak of food poisoning in Taipei has left two people dead and at least four critically ill. The victims had all dined at a Malaysian chain restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District. An investigation is underway to identify the cause of the outbreak.

Lin Chia-mo
Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital physician
The food poisoning caused acidosis. The patient died despite efforts to save him.

A second death has been reported in connection to a Polam Kopitiam restaurant in Taipei. The victim was a 66-year-old man surnamed Yang, who ate at the restaurant on March 19. He developed diarrhea that night and went to Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital for treatment on March 21.

Daughter of victim
He ate at the restaurant at midday on March 19. He had ordered char kway teow. Later that day he experienced diarrhea, having about 30 bowel movements. By the early hours of March 21, he was sweating profusely. His bed and pillow were all wet. But when he was transferred to a regular ward, he was still in good spirits.

When Yang was admitted to hospital, it was unclear whether he had food poisoning. His case was linked to the restaurant outbreak only after March 26, when New Taipei’s Department of Health alerted the hospital.

Lin Chia-mo
Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital
We only realized there was a connection after the news broke out. It turns out it was food poisoning. We didn’t know what he could’ve eaten. We were all making guesses as to what could have caused such severe liver and kidney failure.

Chen Yen-yuan
Taipei Department of Health
The patients had eaten char kway teow, or rice noodles, and developed symptoms within 12 hours. In a very short time, their conditions deteriorated into liver failure and septic shock.

Taipei’s Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have taken boxes of ingredients from the restaurant for testing. For now, the prime suspect is rice noodles, which were eaten by all patients in the cluster. Some doctors say the noodles may have been contaminated with bongkrekic acid, which is lethal in even small quantities.

Wu Shou-mei
Food and Drug Administration
Whether bongkrekic acid is to blame remains to be investigated. For now it’s all just speculation, because we’re going to need at least two weeks to cultivate microbial cultures.

Testing is underway on samples from the restaurant and the patients, which include stool samples.

Polam Kopitiam’s branch in Xinyi was scheduled to close permanently on March 31. The two dead victims and four critically ill patients had eaten stir-fried rice noodles at the branch between March 19 and 22. Theories behind the outbreak range from accidental poisoning to malicious sabotage. An investigation has been launched to find the source of contamination, and to determine whether the ingredients were in proper condition.

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2024-03-27

Defense ministry lays out plan to develop drone talent

The military has beefed up its drone arsenal in recent years, through both overseas procurement and domestic production. And with the increase in drones comes the need for more drone pilots. To meet the talent gap, the defense ministry says it will establish a dedicated pilot training center. Working with the private sector, it also plans to train instructors who can teach other drone pilots.

This is a military shooting range in Taitung’s Taimali Township. Soldiers in camouflage operate what appears to be an Albatross II drone, which was unveiled last year. This site could be the future home of a drone training center.

The military has a range of Taiwan-made drone models, including the Teng Yun, the Cardinal and the Albatross. In addition, the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology and the private sector are developing commercial drones that can be adapted for military use. Taiwan is also set to receive four MQ-9 Reapers from the U.S. Amid growing demand for drone pilots, the military plans to establish a drone training center that offers a wide array of courses, including training in combat scenarios.

Chiu Kuo-cheng
Defense minister
Our talent pool will not be restricted to our current personnel. There are a lot of retired military officers, or older officers that could be considered. There are no age restrictions when it comes to remotely controlling drones, so such talent can serve beyond typical age limits. We’d be recruiting pilots through diverse channels. There are also a lot of younger people who are interested in this and who have professional experience. We can recruit them to form different squads.

Training a large number of drone pilots will require teaching instructors. The military will work with the private sector to train pilots who can later become instructors for small- and medium-sized drones. The initial goal is to train 320 such instructors a year.

Huang Jen
KMT lawmaker
You want to train 320 instructors a year. That is a very low number. If you want there to be enough to train pilots, we need 1,000 instructors a year. You should reevaluate these numbers.

Chen Wen-hsing
Defense official
Our goal is to have 1,000 instructors. We will work toward that goal.

Loh Meei-ling
DPP lawmaker
Could you perhaps offer different training levels? People who are interested could start from basic courses. And people who already have the expertise can train at a different level.

Chiu Kuo-cheng
Defense minister
We’re not saying that every trainee will have to go through the basics. That would waste a lot of time. We’ll work on this.

From creating a training center to cultivating instructors, the military is ramping up its investment in drones to create an edge in asymmetric warfare.

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2024-03-27

Lawmakers call for more international flights for Kaohsiung

Lawmakers from Kaohsiung want more international flight options for their city. At a Wednesday press conference, two lawmakers asked the government to start by increasing aviation routes from Kaohsiung to Japan. They said that Kaohsiung offers far fewer flights to Japan compared to Taoyuan International Airport. In response, the Civil Aviation Administration says it’s already in talks with Japanese authorities on expanding air links with the southern port city.

Introducing delicacies from Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District, the lawmaker says they’d be a hit with potential Japanese tourists. At a press conference on Wednesday, DPP lawmakers Chiu Chih-wei and Hsu Chih-chieh highlighted the south’s growing demand for flights to Japan. They urged the government and airlines to add air routes linking Kaohsiung with Japan.

Hsu Chih-chieh
DPP lawmaker
With more flights connecting the two places, there can be an exchange of local specialties. Japanese ramen is very famous. Match the ramen with our broad bean sauce, and you’d get a completely unique flavor. The Japanese would definitely find Gangshan’s broad bean sauce very tasty.

Chiu Chih-wei
DPP lawmaker
People want in-depth travel experiences, so there’s interest in every prefecture and city in Japan. The Taiwanese want to visit every corner of Japan, for example Okayama, which is a lesser known city with lots of character and many scenic areas in its vicinity. It would certainly have a strong appeal to Taiwanese travelers.

According to government data, Taoyuan International Airport offers direct flights to 24 Japanese destinations every week. In contrast, Kaohsiung International Airport offers only six, a fourfold difference. Every week, 551 flights take off from Taoyuan International Airport, and just 79 flights depart from Kaohsiung International Airport, a difference of seven times. Lawmakers are calling for an increase in destinations and flights for Kaohsiung. The Civil Aviation Administration says it’s discussing the possibility with Japanese authorities.

Hiseh Jin-mei
Civil Aviation Administration
If the Okayama route is established, aviation will be able to return to pre-pandemic levels. But there are still issues regarding the entry and exit of passengers in Japan that need to be overcome. We hope to launch this route as soon as possible, in the middle, or in the second half of the year.

Bernard Hsu
Tigerair Taiwan
Last night, the relevant people in Okayama said they would let us know as early as May or June whether the route is feasible, if the recruitment of customs staff goes smoothly. If we get good news in May or June, we’ll be able to announce it in July.

With air travel yet to bounce back from the pandemic, the government and airlines are working together to achieve a full recovery.

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2024-03-27

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Central bank’s policy rate hike a modest boon for savers, bane for homebuyers

We’re already seeing ripple effects from the central bank’s policy rate hike last week. Four state-invested banks raised their deposit interest rates from Monday. On Wednesday, Chunghwa Post’s banking system followed suit, raising the interest rate it pays for savings deposits. Following its adjustment, a one-year term CD of NT$1 million will yield an extra NT$1,250 in interest each year. So for savers, the central bank’s rate hike means a modest boost. But homebuyers aren’t smiling, because their mortgages have just gotten more expensive.

Here at the post office, customers wait their turn for service. Chunghwa Post’s banking system is favored by older adults, who see it as a trusted place to save money. Following the central bank’s interest rate hike, the post office has raised rates on its savings accounts.

Lai Chih-chang
Great Home Realty researcher
For an account with NT$1 million in savings, the increase in annual interest will be around NT$1,250. But people who have mortgages, there will be an additional burden.

Chunghwa Post raised its deposit interest rates by a range between 0.115 and 0.13 percentage points. With the adjustment, its one-year term deposit rate is now 1.725%. State-invested banks including Bank of Taiwan, First Bank, Taiwan Cooperative Bank, and Land Bank of Taiwan have also adjusted rates, raising demand deposit and term deposit rates by a range of 0.12 to 0.135 percentage points. One-year term deposit rates now range from 1.725% to 1.755%. But while savers may rejoice, homebuyers are facing steeper payments. A 30-year mortgage of NT$10 million now costs an extra NT$631 a month, or NT$7,572 a year.

Member of public
We do also have a mortgage. When the central bank raises its rates, our interest rates go up, too.

Member of public
There’s inflation and rising electricity prices. Monthly expenses are going up. Say that you have NT$1 million in a bank account. That gets you just NT$1,000 or so in interest. You can spend that in a flash. It’s better to put that money in ETFs, which have higher returns than any bank or the post office.

For savers, the central bank’s surprise rate hike means slightly more bang for their buck. But for mortgage holders, it’s only one more source of financial stress.

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Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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