Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/23
By: Chen Cheng-wei and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) A French senior executive at RT Mart Taiwan said Sunday that he has not been able to get used to his Taiwanese colleagues’ deference, adding that they tend to acquiesce to those in authority and seldom point out the faults of their superiors.

Jean-Manuel Cros, the human resources director at RT Mart Taiwan, who has worked in Taiwan for three years, said it is difficult for him to fit into the workplace culture, in which his Taiwanese colleagues show no defiance to orders.

Describing silence as the first impression Taiwanese people gave him, Cros said that “everybody in France argues with the boss, even entry-level workers in a company,” whereas Taiwanese workers do not usually stand up to their boss.

Under these circumstances, Cros said, it is difficult for him to find out the truth about a given situation, even though he has an actual need to learn what local consumers want as he tries to expand RT Mart’s market share in Taiwan.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/23
By: Bernie Chiu and S.C. Chang

Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) The first domestically built tram car will be delivered to Danhai Light Rail Transit System Nov. 11 with 15 more to follow in 2017, according to Taiwan Rolling Stock Co. (TRSC).

The company, based in Hukou, Hsinchu, has been making commuter trains for Taiwan Railway Administration. After investing billion of dollars in its tram car project, it will deliver its first tram to New Taipei city government next month.

“We’re already 20 years behind other advanced countries (in making trams),” said Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), chairman of TRSC which is a joint venture of China Steel Corp., Tang Eng Iron Works and two Japanese firms — Nippon Sharyo and Sumitomo Corp. — who are minority share holders.

To manufacture light rail trams, TRSC has been cooperating with Germany’s Voith Engineering Services. “Light rail trams are pollution-free and environmentally friendly; they will be the mainstream public transit tools of the future,” said Tsai.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-22
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the world’s biggest computer

chip contract manufacturer, announced Saturday it would spend NT$432 million (US$13.6 million) on bonuses for its employees next month.

The announcement was made by its long-term chairman, Morris Chang, at the company’s annual sports event, attended by an estimated 20,000 people at a stadium in Zhubei, Hsinchu County.

A total of 36,000 employees in Taiwan who had joined the company before June 1 were qualified to receive NT$12,000 (US$378) each at the end of November, reports said.

In his address to TSMC staff, Chang said that despite key changes in the chip business and the advent of several strong competitors, the Taiwanese company had still managed to increase its market share as well as its profits.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/22
By: Tang Pei-chun and Lilian Wu

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) The president of China Steel Corp. (CSC, 中鋼) has been appointed to serve as the

new board chairman of the company, the Executive Yuan confirmed Saturday.

Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), said that Wong Chao-tung (翁朝棟) will formally assume his new post very soon. Former CSC Chairman Andrew Sung (宋志育) retired at the end of September.

Wong, 62, started his way up from the grassroots of the company, and was assigned to supervise the building of a cold rolled steel plate plant in Vietnam six years ago.

He returned to Taiwan in January this year to serve as CSC subsidiary China Ecotek Corp. (中宇環保) chairman.

When he assumed the post of CSC president in June, he said he will work with the government’s “New Southbound Policy,” which ties in with the company’s project to tap the Association of Southeast Asian industry.   [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/21
By: Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) The Taipei and Kaohsiung subway systems will have talking automated teller machines (ATMs) installed at all of their stations by next year to serve the visually impaired, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Friday.

Taiwan’s top financial regulator said banks in Taiwan will complete the installation of the machines, which use audible commands so they can be operated without assistance by the visually impaired, in all 154 stations of the two systems by May 2017.

One ATM will be installed at each station.

Currently, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華) is in charge of installing ATMs in the Taipei Metro, while Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行) is responsible for putting in ATMs in the Kaohsiung Metro.

As of the end of June, there were 260 talking ATMs available in all of Taiwan regardless of venue, including some in Taipei subway stations, but none had yet been installed in the Kaohsiung subway system.    [FULL  STORY]