**Tai-Ex opening **

The Tai-Ex opened up 54-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 15,670

on turnover of $3.5-billion N-T.

The market gained ground on Thursday, despite Wall Street seeing its biggest

one-day decline in two months overnight, after notes from a recent U-S

Federal Reserve meeting showed officials expect to keep interest rates high

to fight stubborn (固執的) inflation.

**MOTC Planning Public Transport Pass **

The government says it plans to introduce a 1,200 N-T monthly public

transport pass serving Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan and Keelung.

The pass that is likely to be launched in July and is aimed at encouraging

the use of public transport, which the government says was negatively

impacted by the coronavirus pandemic due to a decline in passenger volume.

According to acting Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng, families in Taiwan spend

about 12-per cent of their household income on public commutes, so the

monthly pass will help alleviate some of that burden (負擔).

The monthly pass will allow unlimited travel on public transport, including

local city/intercity buses, M-R-T lines, Taiwan Railways Administration

trains and bicycle-sharing services, in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan and

Keelung.

**FDA Plans to Make Trans-Resveratrol a Legal Dietary Supplement **

The Food and Drug Administration has unveiled a draft regulation on the use

and labeling of a certain type of trans-resveratrol.

The draft states that the substance shall be considered a dietary supplement

(營養補充品) so long as the daily adults dose does not exceed 150-micrograms.

The regulation covers the use and labeling of trans-resveratrol derived from

the fermentation (發酵) of a genetically modified brewers' yeast, and states

that the end product must go through a purification process to rid it of

genetically modified organisms, or gene segments.

Suppliers and vendors found to have used noncompliant trans-resveratrol as an

ingredient will face a fine of up to 3-million N-T.

**NKorea Claims Missile Test **

North Korea says it test-fired long-range cruise missiles in waters off its

eastern coast a day earlier.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries didn’t immediately confirm the

exercise, which North Korea’s state media said were intended to verify the

reliability of the missiles and the rapid-response capabilities of the unit

that operates those weapons.

The launches would have taken place as the United States and South Korea held

a simulated military exercise in Washington aimed at sharpening their

response to North Korean nuclear threats.

KCNA said the exercise involved four missiles, which flew for nearly three

hours, drawing oval (橢圓形) and figure-eight patterns above the sea, and

showed that they can hit targets 2,000 kilometers away.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have another joint computer-simulated

exercise and field training scheduled in March, which South Korean officials

say would involve the allies’ biggest live-fire training in years.

**China Carries Out Mine Safety Checks **

Chinese regulators are carrying out widespread safety inspections of coal

mining operations, as rescue efforts continue to find survivors from a

collapsed mine in Inner Mongolia.

Six people are known to have died, and 47 are still missing.

Richard Kimber reports from Hong Kong.

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 _____.

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