Taiwan ITRI’s IVS for companion robots and handheld pesticide residue detector named CES 2018 Innovation Awards

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/14
By: Sophia Yang,Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Two technologies hatched by Taiwan’s leading technology R&D

institution won the CES 2018 Innovation Awards for Intelligent Vision System (IVS) and Handheld Pesticide Residue Detector, for their designs of companion robots and home appliances, respectively.

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) announced it won the awards Monday and will showcase the winning technologies at the CES 2018 exhibition in Las Vegas from January 9-12, 2018. Visitors at the show will be able to play scrabble with a robot and use a portable pesticide detector while washing fruits and vegetables.

The annual CES Innovation Awards honors outstanding product design and technologies applicable to consumer products. Past honorees include Google, Bosch, and ASUS. This year enterprises such as Intel, Amazon, and Texas Instruments were selected.
[FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/14
By: Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) China Airlines (CAL), one of Taiwan’s leading carriers, on Tuesday

announced the establishment of a joint venture with U.S.-based NORDAM Aerospace Group to repair and overhaul structural aircraft components for the CAL fleet and for other airlines in the Asia-Pacific region.

The joint venture, to be called NORDAM Asia Limited, is expected to stimulate industry investment, cultivate aerospace maintenance expertise and create new jobs in Taiwan, according to CAL.

CAL Chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒), who will chair the new company, said he hopes the joint venture will kick-start the aerospace industry in Taiwan.

Apart from the expected boost to the components and parts industry, related manufacturing industries should be energized by the joint venture, which would lead to new market opportunities and closer links between the domestic and overseas aerospace industries, he said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 14, 2017
By Shih Hsiu-chuan

TAIPEI (CNA) – The government is hoping to extend exemptions from national clock-in

regulations to all off-site workers, National Development Council chief Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said Tuesday.

Article 30 of Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act requires employers to keep attendance records for their employees, including hours worked based on when they clock in and clock out.

Employees at media outlets, workers involved in telecommuting arrangements, field sales agents, and drivers, however, are exempt from the rules based on “Guidelines on Working Hours Outside the Workplace” that supplement the Labor Standards Act.

The Ministry of Labor intends to revise the guidelines to extend the exemption to all off-site workers, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Luxgen cars better than Porsche?

Taiwan News 
Date: 2017/11/13
By: Renée Salmonsen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese automaker Luxgen (納智捷) announced last

Monday that their newest models, the U6 GT and U6 GT220, are officially on the market, reported UDN.

The U6 GT ranges in price from NT$779,000 to NT$955,000 (US$26,000 to US$31,600). The U6 GT220 ranges from NT$929,000 to NT$1,019,000. Over a thousand of the new models have already been sold. Luxgen announced that both models will continue to lower in price over the next few months.

So far 2017 has been a year full of fruitful innovation for Luxgen. The U5 model received exemplary marks on collision tests in Spain and received the national award for the best selling car in a foreign market. The successful features of the U5 have been integrated and improved upon in the U6 models.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/13
By: Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Nov. 13 (CNA) Eugene Cornelius, Jr, deputy associate administrator for the

Office of International Trade with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), arrived in Taiwan Monday to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) announced that day.

During his stay from Nov. 13-18, Cornelius will attend a Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) workshop on building a bright future for women entrepreneurs in tech, according to an AIT statement.

He will also deliver remarks to entrepreneurs, academics, students, and venture capitalists at Meet Taipei, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, National Cheng Kung University and the 2017 U.S-Taiwan Entrepreneurship, Commercialization, and Startup Meetup, it noted.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: November 13, 2017
By: Yeh Su-ping, Lu Hsin-hui and Evelyn Kao

TAIPEI (CNA) – President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Monday that Taiwan will show the

world its ambition to be part of regional economic integration as she hailed significant progress made toward completing a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal at the just concluded 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economic leaders’ meeting.

During a meeting with Taiwan’s delegation to the APEC summit, Tsai said the progress made proves that promoting comprehensive economic and trade cooperation through dialogue and exchanges remains the common hope of all 11 nations involved in the TPP.

Following U.S. withdrawal from the TPP, the remaining 11 countries led by Japan said Saturday on the sidelines of the APEC summit they had “agreed on the core elements” of the TPP deal, which is now officially called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).    [FULL  STORY]

EXPANDED FLIGHTS:The carrier attributes its gains to expanded flights to North America and North Asian destinations and to increased cargo transport volume

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 13, 2017
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) on Friday reported that it saw a marked profit gain last

quarter over a year ago on rising demand for passengers and cargo transport.

Net income during the period ending Sept. 30 surged 92.4 percent annually to NT$4.53 billion (NT$150.14 million), EVA said in a statement.

Earnings per share were NT$1.08 last quarter, compared with NT$0.56 the previous year. In the second quarter, the carrier made earnings of NT$0.39 per share, company data showed.

The carrier attributed the gains to expanded flights to North American and North Asian destinations.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/11/12
By Tsai Yi-chu and Elizabeth Hsu 

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp., Taiwan said Sunday that its
domestic gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.6 (US$0.0199) and NT$0.7 per liter, respectively, starting at midnight.

The price hike will be the fourth in as many weeks and will push fuel prices at CPC pumps to the highest level since December 2014.

After the adjustment, prices at CPC gas stations nationwide will be NT$24.3 per liter for super diesel, NT$26.4 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$27.9 per liter for 95 unleaded and NT$29.9 per liter for 98 unleaded, the company said.

On Dec. 8, 2014, fuel prices at CPC pumps were NT$25.1 per liter for super diesel, NT$26.9 per liter for 92 octane unleaded, NT$28.4 per liter for 95 unleaded and NT$30.4 per liter for 98 unleaded.    [FULL  STORY]