Transportation bureau plans to turn the future MRT station near Calligraphy Greenway into a shining spot along the new blue line

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/14
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–Calligraphy Greenway (草悟道) will become a shining spot along Taichung MRT’s Blue Line as the area will have the advantages presented by the combination of a MRT station and a vast green environment where an array of cultural and art institutions are located nearby, Transportation Bureau of Taichung City Government said on Wednesday.

The agency said that, since the Blue Line was approved by the central government, the city government has been planning out the MRT stations along the line.

Transportation Bureau Director-General Wang Yi-chuan (王義川) said that the east-west Blue Line, which is Taichung’s second MRT line, will intersect with the north-south MRT Green Line. A circular railway system around the metropolitan area will connect the MRT lines and form a rail network when completed, further shortening transportation time within the metropolis, Wang added.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/14
By: Liao Yu-yang and William Yen

Port Moresby, Nov. 14 (CNA) Taiwan will strive to gather support at this year’s Asia-

Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit for its efforts to join another regional economic bloc, the country’s top trade negotiator said Wednesday.

Minister without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), head of the Office of Trade Negotiations under the Executive Yuan, said arrangements are being made for members of the Taiwan delegation to the APEC summit to hold bilateral talks with representatives from the countries that are currently members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

In addition, National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶), who arrived in Papua New Guinea earlier in the day for the APEC ministers meeting, said she and Deng will try to lobby representatives of the CPTPP countries at every opportunity on the sidelines of the APEC meetings.

The CPTPP, which grew out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the U.S. walked away from the pact in January 2017, represents a market of 500 million people and accounts for 13.5 percent of global trade.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/13
By: Jiang Ming-yan and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Nov. 13 (CNA) Taiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp. remained in the red in the third quarter but its profit margin improved for the third consecutive quarter.

HTC posted a net loss of NT$2.62 billion (US$84.79 million) and loss per share of NT$3.18 in the quarter, both worse than the NT$2.09 billion in net loss and NT$2.53 in loss per share seen a quarter earlier, the company said in a statement Monday.

Despite the continued losses, HTC said its gross margin, — which reflects the difference between revenue and cost of goods sold — rose to 4.7 percent in the July-September period from 2.7 percent a quarter earlier because of better controls on costs and stable sales of its virtual reality products.    [FULL  STORY]

The trend is unavoidable, and will spur job creation in the long term, says ITRI analyst Huang Hsiao-Wen

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/11/13
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An analyst with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Huang Yi-Wen (黃筱雯), discussed the potential impact of artificial intelligence on the human work force in the coming decades at the IEK industrial Innovation seminar in Taipei on Nov. 13.

At a yearly conference hosted by the ITRI Industrial Economic and Knowledge Center (IEK工研院), Huang, addressing academics and engineers, stated that in the long term, with the development of AI and the Internet of Things, AI will eventually find its way into all aspects of human life.

Huang also claims that despite the significant impact this will have on human labor, that there is a bright side of the developments to look forward to.

Even though many jobs will be replaced by automated labor driven by AI and deep machine learning, an entire new field of jobs will also be opened to humans, specifically jobs opportunities in the digital sphere.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan International
Date: 2018/11/13
By: Chang Chien-chung and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Nov. 13 (CNA) South Korean dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. will soon become the third largest integrated circuit supplier in the world, replacing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), according market advisory firm IC Insights Inc.

In a research report posted on its website on Monday, IC Insights said Hynix is expected to post US$37.73 billion in sales for 2018, an annual increase of 41 percent.

That figure will move Hynix up on spot to third place among global IC suppliers, displacing TSMC, said the California-based market advisory firm.

Hynix’s 2018 sales growth is also expected to be the strongest among the world’s IC suppliers, IC Insights said.    [FULL  STORY]

Three Taiwanese professors will attend the event representing the AI Research Center under the Ministry of Science and Education

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/12
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) announced on Nov. 12 that Taiwan’s AI Research Center will join the 2018 Uber Open Summit in California, with an aim to stimulate research and development in the country’s transportation technology sector, reports Liberty Times.

Three professors representing under MOST, announced that the center will be showcasing some of its self-driving technology at the upcoming 2018 Uber Open Summit on Nov. 15, happening in San Francisco.

In addition to showcasing their technology and talent, Taiwan’s AI research center will have an opportunity to network with some of the most promising start-ups and talented individuals in the field of self-driving technology, and possibly attract some to develop their expertise or business in Taiwan.

Facilitating cooperation between Uber and MOST is Brian Hseih (謝坤員), the leader of Uber’s open source program.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/11/12
By: Chiu Po-sheng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) The average regular wage in Taiwan rose 2.48

percent from a year earlier in September, marking the 10th consecutive month of a year-on-year increase on the back of an economic recovery, according to government statistics released Monday.

Data compiled by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed that the average regular wage for September rose 2.48 percent year-on-year to NT$41,110 (US$1,335).

The growth in September followed a 2.95 percent year-on-year increase in August, the data shows.

In September, the average earned income, which includes regular salary plus bonuses, overtime pay and other irregular income, also grew 3.85 percent from a year earlier to NT$47,577, the DGBAS said.
[FULL  STORY]