Day: February 23, 2023

Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Victor Wang (???) on Thursday said either March or April could be designated as the month for annual COVID-19 vaccinations in Taiwan starting in 2024.

Although the required number of inoculations is dependent on scientific research, preliminary estimates suggest one vaccination per year will suffice, with March or April planned as the designated month, Wang said at a press briefing.

Either of those months will ensure COVID-19 vaccinations are separate from annual flu vaccinations which are available from October every year.

Wang also announced a new COVID-19 vaccination program scheduled to run from March 6 to April 30 this year, aimed at encouraging the roughly 1.3 million people who have not yet received a jab.

Specifically, the program targets anyone who is 6 months old and above and never received a COVID-19 vaccination shot, and will also be available to anyone who is 6 years old and above who has yet to receive a Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccine shot.

However, there must be a minimum interval of 84 days between vaccination shots or when a person last tested positive for COVID-19 for anyone wanting to receive a jab from the program, the CECC said.

Wang also encouraged individuals who are vaccinated to get an additional jab this year to boost immunity.

Further details of the program will be published on the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control website, Wang said.

Data released Thursday showed that 94 percent of the population in Taiwan has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including 475 people who were just given their first shot a day earlier.

Meanwhile, 76.3 percent have gotten a booster shot, and 23 percent have received two extra doses, according to the CECC.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan college student Chen Yen-ru (???) finished third at the 18th edition of the World Students GO OZA Championship in Tokyo Wednesday, according to HaiFong Go Association.

The 23-year-old amateur 7-dan Go player from National Taiwan Sport University tied for third with China's Gao Yifan (???) after a 3-1 record. The two-day tournament was won by South Korean Kim Seungwon, with Japanese player Kawaguchi Tsubasa second.

"This may have been my last chance to participate in the Students OZA, but it was my very first international tournament. It was a great chance and experience to compete against Go players from around the world, and it meant a lot to me," Chen told CNA.

Asked to comment on his performance, Chen said the tournament was "a great way to end (his) college years," but he regretted how he played in his second game, which he lost to Thailand's Wichrich Karuehawanit after overplaying his hand.

Chen clinched his tournament berth last October by winning a third straight championship at the National University Go Elite Ten, with the best-performing male and female Go players representing Taiwan in the annual tournament in Japan.

Chen dominated the Go Elite Ten in 2019, 2020 and 2022 (it was canceled in 2021), but missed out on his first two chances to play in Japan because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the tournament being canceled for the past three years. In order to take part this year Chen even postponed his graduation for one year to remain eligible.

In addition to Chen Yen-ru, Chen Xin (??) from Fo Guang University also represented Taiwan and finished 12th with a 1-3 record. She finished sixth at the Go Elite Ten to top all the other female rivals and secure her slot.

Though she finished well below Chen Yen-ru in the final standings, Chen Xin, who has focused more on teaching Go rather than playing it competitively since 2019, said she was very satisfied with what she accomplished, having tried her best in every match.

"My own goal coming into the tournament was to not lose all of my games," she said.

Of the four games she played, she felt her best showing was her third game against China's Gao, who tied for third.

"I had several chances to win late in the game. It's a shame I couldn't close it out because of the limited time I had left," said Chen Xin, who referred to the tournament as her "last dance."

The tournament in Japan is the most important tournament for amateur college Go players, HaiFong Go Association President Lin Min-hao (???) said, and is also significant because it sets a goal for amateur Go players to prolong their interest in game.

While many Taiwanese play Go in their childhood, they tend to stop after attending junior high school. "Those who continue playing Go as college students are more likely to pay serious attention to Go," Lin said in a phone interview.

This year the World Students GO OZA Championship involved nine men and seven women from around the world, including one man and woman from Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan.

Other participants included individuals from Thailand and Singapore, the United States and Mexico, Germany, Romania, France and Australia, according to the tournament website.

First held in 2003, the tournament is organized annually by the All-Japan Student Go Association, Nikkei and Pandanet, with 16 Go players vying for the honor. China has won the event eight times and South Korea seven.

Taiwan's best record at the tournament is second place, achieved by male players in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016, while the best record by a female was National Tsing Hua University's Lin Hsiao-tung (???), who finished fourth and received the award for the best-performing female in 2017 and 2019.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday unveiled a draft regulation on the use and labeling of a certain type of trans-resveratrol, which states that the substance shall be considered a dietary supplement so long as the daily adults dose does not exceed 150 micrograms.

The draft regulation covers the use and labeling of trans-resveratrol derived from the fermentation of saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, a genetically modified brewers' yeast, and states that the end product must go through a purification process to rid it of genetically modified organisms (GMO) or gene segments.

Liao Chia-ting (???), a section chief at the FDA's Food Safety Division, told CNA that naturally occurring trans-resveratrol is commonly found in grapes and red wine and is known for its antioxidant properties.

However, with technological advancements in recent years, the substance is also derived from purified yeasts, Liao said.

The draft regulation was formulated after referring to similar regulations in the European Union and other advanced countries, and would only allow daily consumption of no more than 150 mg by adults, Liao said.

In addition, products containing the substance must be labeled to inform consumers that they could pose health hazards for individuals under the age of 18 or pregnant or lactating women while people on medications should consult with their doctors prior to consumption.

The draft regulation will now undergo a public review period and go into effect in June at the earliest, the FDA said.

Suppliers and vendors found to have used noncompliant trans-resveratrol as an ingredient would face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million, the FDA added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan will import up to 5 million eggs from Australia by the end of March in an effort to alleviate the nation's egg shortage, Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (???) said on Thursday.

An uptick in avian flu infections and big temperature swings last year resulted in a dip in Taiwan's egg production, causing a nationwide egg shortage in 2023.

A COA report showed that daily egg production in Taiwan last week was 113,000 boxes, each box containing 200 eggs.

However, the latest statistics revealed that the number of locally produced eggs fell by 1,000 boxes this week to 112,000 per day.

The drop in production means Taiwan currently faces a daily deficit of between 500,000 and 800,000 eggs, Chen said at a press conference.

To fill that gap, Taiwan will import eggs that will be allocated to businesses in Taiwan's food processing industry to ensure stable food supply, he added.

In addition, the COA plans to budget NT$3.3 billion (US$109 million) over three years to help local poultry farms modernize their operations, of which NT$1.8 billion will be designated for farm renovation as well as waste treatment and processing.

At the presser, the minister also addressed rumors and criticisms relating to the nation's egg shortage.

Responding to claims by China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (???) that eggs in Taiwan now cost between NT$15 and NT$20 per egg, Chen dismissed the numbers as inaccurate.

Currently, he said, the farm price is approximately NT$4.2 per egg, with wholesale price estimated to be about NT$5.2 and supermarkets selling to customers at approximately NT$6.

Despite the shortage, the 112,000 boxes of eggs produced daily this week are higher than the 107,000 daily production during the same period last year, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Premier Chen Chien-jen (???) on Thursday also addressed Zhu's comment, saying he believes people in Taiwan are able to discern the truth for themselves.

The premier added that he is confident the nation's egg shortage will be resolved by the end of March.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan's industrial production dropped by more than 20 percent from a year earlier in January, marking the fifth consecutive monthly year-on-year decline, due mainly to semiconductor supply chain inventory adjustments, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Thursday.

Data compiled by the MOEA showed the January industrial production index in Taiwan fell 20.5 percent from a year earlier to 109.02.

The latest decline expanded from the 7.93 percent drop in December from a year earlier to 129.62, with the manufacturing sector sub-index, which accounts for more than 90 percent of total production, falling by 21.38 percent to 110.34, also the fifth straight month of year-on-year decline.

The year-on-year declines in the two indexes last month were caused by weakening end-user demand worldwide, a major slowdown in global growth, which led to falling demand and supply chain inventory adjustments, as well as fewer working days during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday in the month, said Huang Wei-chieh (???), deputy director of the MOEA's Department of Statistics.

Weak performance in the semiconductor sector due to the start of inventory adjustments in the month also contributed to the drops in the indexes, Huang added.

The semiconductor industry saw production fall 12.81 percent from a year earlier in January, snapping a 38-month streak of year-on-year growth since November 2019, according to the MOEA data.

Meanwhile, the production sub-index for electronic component makers dropped 19.7 percent from a year earlier, while the sub-index for computer, electronics component and optoelectronics makers dropped 12.23 percent from a year earlier, ending 35 continuous months of growth since February 2020.

Huang said weakening global demand continues to affect old economy industries so many manufacturers cut production in January, with most reporting a double-digit decline in production.

In the month, production by chemical raw material and base metal industries fell 26.75 percent, 21.72 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, while production in the auto and auto parts industry dropped 23.73 percent year-on-year according to the MOEA data.

Looking ahead, Huang said double-digit declines in industrial production in Taiwan are likely to continue in February due to sluggish global demand.

According to a MOEA forecast, the manufacturing sector sub-index is expected to fall by 7.8 percent-11.2 percent from a year earlier to 105.87-109.87 in February.

Huang said when the local export-oriented manufacturing sector returns to growth depends on when inventories bottom out and global demand revives.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel