Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/21
By Hsiao Po-yang and Ko Lin

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) The Changhua County government signed a memorandum of

understanding (MOU) Wednesday with two leading offshore wind energy developers from Canada and Singapore that will see them invest NT$157 billion (US$4.9 billion) in renewable energy resources in central Taiwan.

The MOU was signed by Chuanghua Magistrate Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷), Canada’s Northland Power Inc. (NPI) Commercial Development Manager Sean McDermott, and Singapore-based Yushan Energy Pte., Ltd. Chairman Ian Hatton.

Meanwhile, witnessed by Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau Deputy Director-General Leu Jang-hwa (呂正華), the two companies also signed a joint MOU with National Changhua University of Education Vice President Chen Ming-fei (陳明飛) to forge future academic exchanges in the field of renewable energy development.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/21
By: Huang Li-yun and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) Taiwan and Germany signed a joint declaration of intent on cooperation in the field of energy transition in Taipei Wednesday to strengthen cooperative efforts on related issues.

The Bureau of Energy (BOE) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs documented the signing in a statement, in which it attributed the formation of the cooperation relationship to the success of two Taiwan-Germany energy transition forums held in Taipei over the past two years.

In the statement, the bureau said that “the Joint Declaration of Intent on Cooperation in the Field of Energy Transition will realize and strengthen bilateral cooperation on energy transition issues, including knowledge- and experience-sharing on policies, management, energy technologies, and the promotion of clean energy.”   [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 22, 2016
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

PC maker Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said its first voice-controlled robot,

Zenbo, would be available for preorder in the consumer market on Jan. 1, meeting the company’s milestone to officially introduce the product.

The announcement came more than six months after Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) unveiled the robot at a news conference ahead of Computex Taipei in May.

However, Zenbo’s release date is slightly later than Shih’s promise to shareholders in June to introduce it to the market before Christmas, in a bid to contribute growth momentum to the company’s operations in the second half of the year.

“It took time to ensure that Zenbo is ready to be a home companion for Taiwanese consumers,” Asustek spokesman Nick Wu (吳長榮) told reporters after the product’s launch event.    [FULL  STORY]

Drivers reluctant to appear in photos: reports

Taiwan News
Date: 2016/12/20
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Ride-hailing app Uber Taiwan is offering coupons worth up to

NT$10,000 (US$312) to some of its customers, barely days after the Legislative Yuan amended the Highway Act which could lead to a fine of NT$25 million (US$781,000) for the San Francisco-based company.

Taiwan’s government and Uber have been waging a battle for four years, with bans and fines failing to persuade the U.S. company to withdraw.

Uber’s latest move was to offer a coupon to customers for putting a selfie with an Uber driver on Facebook with the hashtag of an Uber message between December 19 and 30.

Drivers were reluctant to appear in the selfies because they feared the pictures could be used as evidence against them in legal cases based on the recently amended Highway Act, cable station TVBS reported Tuesday.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/20
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Christie Chen

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Costco Wholesale Taiwan announced Tuesday that it will open a branch in New Taipei’s Xinzhuang District Jan. 7.

The Xinzhuang branch will be the 13th Costco outlet in Taiwan since the big-box wholesale hypermarket operator made inroads into the country for the first time in 1997.

The new branch, which is five stories tall and has a floor area of 13,220 square meters, is located near Fu Jen University MRT station.

Wang Yu-mei (王友玫), vice general manager of Costco Taiwan’s marketing department, said the company hopes that the new branch will attract more young consumers, in addition to family consumers.   [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: December 21, 2016
By: Christine Chou

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan-based PC brand Acer Inc. on Tuesday said its board of

directors agreed at a special meeting to recognize an impairment charge of approximately NT$6.34 billion, mainly that of intangible assets of its new cloud-related business.

Asked whether Acer’s stock price would drop on recognizing the impairment loss, CEO Jason Chen said the impairment charge — the third in the company’s history — would not affect company operations or its cash position because “Acer still has a NT$36 billion capital surplus that is enough for paying cash dividends.”

Once completed, the impact on earnings per share (EPS) is estimated to be NT$2.06, with net value per share of approximately NT$19. The move is also expected to reduce amortization expenses by approximately NT$230 million in 2017.   [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Today
Date: December 19, 2016

Passengers taking the new mass rapid transit system from downtown Taipei to Taiwan

Taoyuan International Airport will be able to check in at Taipei Main Station when the rail line launches in early 2017.

Check-in services will initially be offered by local carriers China Airlines Co. and EVA Airways Corp., with certain restrictions applying, according to Taoyuan Metro Corp. Passengers with oversized luggage or baggage requiring quarantine inspection will not be able to check in at the rail terminal.

Once the airport MRT line commences operations next year, Taipei will become the fourth city in the Asia-Pacific region to offer in-town check-in, following Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/12/19
By: Wu Hsin-yun and Frances Huang

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Almost 70 percent of student employers in the vicinity of four major universities in Taiwan are in violation of the Labor Standards Act, a survey showed on Monday.

According to the survey released by National Sun Yat-sen University in southern Taiwan, Tunghai University in central Taiwan, and Fu Jen Catholic University and National Chengchi University in northern Taiwan, the most serious violations included failure to provide student employees with labor insurance.

The survey was jointly conducted by the universities and the Taiwan Pioneer Labor Association (TPLA), a local labor group.    [FULL  STORY]