RUNNING OUT OF STEAM: The world’s top athletic shoes maker said that it still needs the consent of its workers’ union as well as the government to make a final decision

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 22, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Pou Chen Corp (寶成工業), the world’s largest maker of sports shoes, apparel and accessories, is mulling pay cuts and furloughs for its Taiwanese employees as orders slump amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Taichung-based company — whose clients include Nike Inc, Adidas AG, Puma AG, New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc and Timberland Co — is contemplating temporary pay cuts of 10 percent, furloughs and other cost-saving measures that would affect 3,000 employees in Taiwan and officials based in overseas factories.

Pou Chen spokesman Ho Ming-kun (何明坤) told reporters that the firm has not made a final decision, as it requires the consent of its workers’ union and the government.

The 51-year-old company is seeking to furlough employees for six days per month for three months, which might be extended depending on how the pandemic pans out, Ho said.    [FULL  STORY]

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]

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

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]

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]

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]

CPJ
Date: April 18, 2020

Taipei, April 18, 2020–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against Jimmy Lai, founder and chair of Next Digital, following his arrest this afternoon alongside other pro-democracy advocates on suspicion of participating in an illegal assembly. Lai’s media properties, including the Apple Daily, have actively and sympathetically covered the 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong.

“The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the arrest of 14 prominent pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong, including Apple Daily media founder Jimmy Lai,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Hong Kong authorities should end their repeated harassment of Jimmy Lai and drop all charges against him.”    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/18/2020
By: Jeffrey Wu and Frances Huang

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) Taiwan-based PC brand Acer Inc. replaced Taiwanese counterpart Asustek Computer Inc. as the fifth largest PC supplier in the world in the first quarter of 2020, according to global market information advisory firm Gartner Inc.

Data compiled by Gartner showed Acer shipped 2.90 million PCs in the January-March period, down 12.7 percent from a year earlier as the global PC industry saw falling demand resulting from the COVID-19 contagion.

Acer took a 5.6 percent share of the global PC market in the first quarter, beating Asustek, which shipped 2.60 million units for a 5.0 percent share and took sixth place.

In the fourth quarter, Acer had a 5.7 percent share, behind Asustek's 5.8 percent, according to Gartner.
[FULL  STORY]

Eight-year-old petition revived, calls for standard-making body to face reality of Taiwanese sovereignty

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/17
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An online petition calling for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to stop naming Taiwan as a province of China has received over 287,000 signatures worldwide.

As an increasing number of people worldwide become aware of China's unprecedented influence over the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and many other international organizations, a petition launched in 2013 on the US-based platform Change.org has returned to the media spotlight.

The petition, initiated by a person identified as Judy Lin, the board director of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance, is asking the international standard-making body to face the fact that Taiwan is a free country where people can freely elect their leaders and that it is not a "province of China."

The petition reads "Taiwan has its own political, postal, financial, and socioeconomic systems that are run independently" and demands the organization rectify the mistake.    [FULL  STORY]