Eye On Taiwan

David Beckham asks Taiwanese fans for quarantine advice Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:57 AM PDT British soccer star asks Taiwanese fans for advice on productive things to do during quarantine Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/20 By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer David Beckham. (Facebook, David Beckham photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — British soccer star David Beckham on Saturday (April 18) asked Taiwanese fans for advice on productive ways to pass the time while under quarantine as the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to ravage the UK and much of the world. In a Facebook post uploaded on Saturday, Beckham posted a photo of himself playing with Legos as he holds his dog in his lap. In the caption, Beckham wrote that he was in week four of home isolation in the UK and that he and his family have tried numerous things to past the time, including playing with Legos, cooking, watching films, exercising, and trying to get work done. He then wrote that he is aware that Taiwanese are very creative and asked if fans in Taiwan had any tips on how to "stay fit, stay positive and how to keep little people entertained." He then prompted fans to leave their tips below. (Facebook, David Beckham screenshot) The post soon gained 4,800 likes, 530 comments, and 368 shares. Examples of suggestions included making pearl milk tea, watching Taiwan-based Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) games, tuning in to Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reports, making a cardboard slide, playing Nintendo Switch, painting with his children, and planting flowers, fruits, or vegetables.    [FULL  STORY]

Former MLB player becomes fastest to 1,000 hits in Taiwan league Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:53 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/19/2020 By: William Yen Fubon Guardians outfielder Hu Chin-long (胡金龍) Taipei, April 19 (CNA) Former major leaguer Hu Chin-long (胡金龍) on Saturday reached the 1,000 hit milestone in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) faster than any player in league history. The 36-year-old Hu, who was with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2007 to 2010 and the New York Mets in 2011, reached the milestone with a line drive hit to center in the top of the eighth in his Fubon Guardians' 12-9 loss to the Rakuten Monkeys in Taoyuan. After recording his 1,000th hit, Hu took off his helmet and bowed to the empty stadium in thanks, reflecting the reality of Taiwan's pro baseball season opening without fans because of social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.    [FULL  STORY]

Monkeys claim early-season initiative Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:49 AM PDT PLANET WATCHING? Rakuten’s performance may have boosted its global standing, with online polls indicating that global fans back them over other Taiwanese clubs Taipei Times Date: Apr 20, 2020 By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter The Fubon Guardians’ Lin Che-hsuan sets out for first after connecting with a pitch during their Chinese Professional Baseball League game against the Rakuten Monkeys at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium yesterday. Photo: CNA The Rakuten Monkeys are the early season leaders in Taiwanese professional baseball after they swept their three-game series against the Fubon Guardians with a 3-1 victory in Taoyuan last night, showing their opponents that they can win in a pitching duel. The defending champions have sustained their form from last year’s Taiwan Series triumph, the Monkeys’ third consecutive Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) title, after starting the season with five wins from five games. Rakuten manager Tseng Hao-chu started second-year right-hander Weng Wei-chun to close out the series. Veteran pitcher Henry Sosa of the Dominican Republic took the mound for the Guardians. The Monkeys got a run in the first inning and Fubon in their second to make the score 1-1 early on, before Weng settled down to limit the Guardians’ batters, while his teammates scored in the fifth and seventh.    [FULL  STORY]

New 2020 AirPods Pro Potentially Delayed to the Second Half of 2020 or Later Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:45 AM PDT WCCF Tech Date: April 20, 2020 By: Ali Salman We previously heard that Apple will release the new 2020 AirPods Pro next month. However, the latest report from DigiTimes suggests otherwise, stretching the potential launch to the second half or later. The report is based on supply chain sources cited by the Taiwanese publication. The Launch of the 2020 AirPods Pro Might Be Delayed Till Second Half of This Year or Later Last month, DigiTimes reported that Apple will begin the production of the budget variant AirPods Pro between the first and second quarters. However, it makes perfect sense if the production of the wireless earbuds is deferred due to the global health crises. The paywalled preview of the report reads: You Can Buy Replacement AirPods Pro Ear Tips Directly From Apple Apple likely to defer new AirPods Pro launch Apple is likely to defer the launch of its new AirPods Pro to the second half of 2020 or even 2021, according to sources at related suppliers.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s AI thermometer draws interest in SE Asia Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:39 AM PDT New thermometer featuring artificial intelligence billed as less error-prone, more cost-effective Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/20 By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer Taiwan develops AI infrared thermometer. (NHRI image) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Many Southeast Asian nations have expressed interest in acquiring a next-generation infrared thermometer developed by Taiwan that is being touted as smart and able to reduce erroneous readings. Designed by the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI), a government-sponsored and mission-oriented medical research center, the thermometer incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The AI feature allows the device to detect people's faces before reading their temperatures, which reduces errors due to interference by radiation emitted from objects held by the individual being measured — for example, a cup of hot coffee or cold drink. The feature is particularly commercially attractive at a time when countries around the world are deploying thermometers to screen suspected patients of the coronavirus. Compared to other types of contactless thermometer, the system delivered satisfactory results in an experiment of 200 people in open spaces, said Liao Lun-de (廖倫德), assistant investigator of NHRI’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Nanomedicine. The masks, hats, and glasses the individuals wore were not found to have affected the temperature readings.    [FULL  STORY]

Value of Taiwan export orders up 40.4% in March Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:36 AM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/20/2020 By: Wu Po-wei and Chiang Yi-ching Taipei, April 20 (CNA) Export orders received by Taiwan-based companies in March grew more than 40.4 percent from the previous month to US$40.26 billion despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday. That represents an increase of US$11.58 billion in export orders from February and year-on-year growth of 4.3 percent, the ministry said. It also brings first quarter export orders to a total of US$104.24 billion, a 23.1 percent drop from fourth quarter export orders last year, and a year-on-year decrease of 3.5 percent, according to MOEA data. Due to the global impact of COVID-19, the ministry forecast in February that export orders in the first quarter would be US$97.5-US$99 billion.    [FULL  STORY]

Virus Outbreak: Authorities see pandemic lasting longer Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:32 AM PDT CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM: The economy could still grow between 1.3% and 1.8% this year, supported by government relief and stimulus measures, public officials said Taipei Times Date: Apr 21, 2020 By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter The COVID-19 pandemic might persist for nine months, from an earlier estimate of three months, and would wipe out almost all economic gains this year in the absence of the government’s relief and stimulus measures, top statistics and monetary officials said yesterday. The pandemic could erase GDP growth by 1.8 to 2.3 percentage points this year through disruptions to trade channels abroad and consumer spending at home, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in Taipei. That would leave Taiwan with a parlous growth of between 0.4 percent and 0.9 percent, without government intervention, Chu said. The statistics agency in February set its forecast for GDP growth this year at 2.37 percent, with the pandemic expected to affect China for three months, based on the global experience with SARS in 2003. [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan develops 15-minute rapid test kit for COVID-19 Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:27 AM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 20 April, 2020 By: Leslie Liao A hospital in southern Taiwan has developed a promising COVID-19 rapid test kit A hospital in southern Taiwan has developed a rapid test kit that can detect COVID-19 in as little as 15 minutes. Initial results are promising. Poke your finger, draw some blood, and wait 15 minutes. That’s all it takes to get a result in this new COVID-19 test. It’s the work of Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital in southern Taiwan. The instrument is very sensitive, and can detect even a small viral load. Siaogang Hospital Superintendent Kuo Chao-Hung says that the device uses light to detect traces of the COVID-19 virus. The test is nearly 100% accurate. Test data can be uploaded via a smartphone app, giving authorities a better idea of the disease’s spread. The rapid test kit is still undergoing clinical trials. Once Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control approves it, then it can be mass-produced.     [FULL  STORY]

Seoul and Taipei show the world how to contain pandemics Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:24 AM PDT Decisive action, speed and penalties stand in contrast to Japan's red tape Nikkei Asian Review Date: April 21, 2020 By: Yosuke Onchi and Kernsaku Ihara, Nikkei staff writers Health workers sterilizing the streets of the South Korean city of Daegu in February.    © AP SEOUL/TAIPEI — South Korea and Taiwan have won praise and attention for fast and effective responses to the novel coronavirus that have so far allowed them to avoid the sort of damage seen elsewhere despite their proximity to the disease's original epicenter of mainland China. South Korea has seen over 10,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far but reported just 13 new cases on Monday. Taiwan has just over 400 cases in total, with six deaths. Authorities in both places say they consider the outbreak to be under control. Both share similar approaches to combating the outbreak, based on strong central authorities born of lessons learned after the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic of 2003 and 2004, and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2015 that killed 38 people in South Korea. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a ministerial-level government arm that is legally authorized in a public health emergency to request action from government agencies. The requests, in effect, carry the same weight as government directives.    [FULL  STORY]

Measures taken to ensure visits to Gaomei Wetland in C. Taiwan are safe Posted: 20 Apr 2020 11:19 AM PDT City is enforcing crowd control to limit simultaneous boardwalk visitors to 900Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/20 By: George Liao, Agencies Gaomei Wetland  (Wikimedia Commons photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taichung City Government has put in place measures to ensure that visits to the Gaomei Wetland (高美濕地) are safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release published on Taichung Travel Net. Gaomei Wetland, which boasts “the most beautiful sunsets in Taiwan,” has emerged as a popular attraction in recent years, attracting about 1.6 million visitors every year. The city is enforcing crowd control measures at the boardwalk so that the number of simultaneous visitors does not exceed 900. In addition, people entering the Gaomei Wetland Visitor Center must undergo a temperature check and wear masks. Taichung Tourism and Travel Bureau Director Lin Hsiao-chi (林筱淇) said that the wetland has an area of 700 hectares, and the uniquely designed boardwalk, wind turbines, and picturesque sunset have all won wide acclaim. The city encourages the public to visit the scenic fresh air destination, the director added. [FULL  STORY]