EZ News 02/20/22

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened down 28-points this morning from Friday's close, at 15,452 on turnover of $2.4-billion NT. The market remained under pressure today, after swinging between gains and losses over the past several trading days, following forecasts for weak Asian markets due to continuing concerns over continued aggressive action from the US Federal Reserve. **Man fined NT$17m in fraud case involving resale of 3,525 phones ** A customer of Chunghwa Telecom Co. has been ordered to pay the company $17 million NT in damages. The New Taipei District Court says he was sued for reselling 3,525 cellphones he had obtained under Chunghwa's preferential contracts. The man, surnamed Lin, began running the scam in 2016, after he set up a one-man company that purportedly was conducting research into the wireless charging of iPhones, according to a court ruling issued on Feb. 13-th. With the subscription contracts, Lin obtained (獲得) 3,525 cellphones, including iPhone and Samsung Galaxy models, which he paid little or nothing for. He then resold the mobile phones to vendors and wholesale businesses at low prices, according to the ruling. In the civil case, the court ordered Lin to pay damages of $17.64 million NT, which would accrue an annual interest rate of 5 percent if it is not paid in full. The case is subject to appeal. **Lantern Fest Sees Over a Million Visitors on Closing Day ** The Taiwan Lantern Festival saw over a million visitors on closing day yesterday. Taipei's Department of Information and Tourism says as of 10pm last night, the four main festival display areas and 12 districts in the city saw more than a million visitors. And officials say the five MRT stations near the festival grounds recorded 180-thousand riders yesterday. The department says the city government mobilized over 50-thousand workers over the 19-day-long festival, including over 20-thousand police officers, and over 1-thousand medical and fire emergency personnel. Officials say the festivities brought an increase in business of 10-to-30 percent for many of the districts involved. (NS) **NKorea Fires Missiles and Artillery ** North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles and artillery shells toward its eastern waters. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected (發現，察覺) the two missile launches from a western coastal town, just north of Pyongyang, this morning. It said South Korea has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a readiness in close coordination with the United States. Japan's Defense Ministry said both missiles landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It said Japan condemned the launches as a threat to the peace and safety of Japan and the international society. Also this morning, North Korea's long-range artillery units on its western coast fired two rounds cross-country toward the eastern waters in response to what its state media called the U.S.-South Korean aerial drills on Sunday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. KCNA said the North Korean artillery rounds simulated strikes on targets up to 395 kilometers away. **Biden heads to Poland ** U-S President Joe Biden heads to Europe this week to mark a second year of war by denouncing (駁斥) Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He's also expected to publicly declare that the United States will support Kyiv until the final moments of the conflict. Shelly Adler reports. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn