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The Tai-Ex opened down 48-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 16,377 on turnover of $4.6-billion N-T.
The Tai-Ex gained ground on Thursday, despite most other regional markets ending the trading day in negative territory following a mixed session on Wall Street overnight as losses by tech and industrial companies offset (抵消) other gains there.
Premier Su Tseng-chang says pork consumption, so far this year, has been largely unchanged from the same period of last year, despite the decision to allow imports of U-S pork products containing ractopamine.
According to Su, total pork consumption from January 1 through February 16 was around 62,245 tonnes, compared with the 59,278 tonnes seen during the same period of last year.
Su is also stressing that there has been no significant hike in pork prices here in Taiwan as some had predicted (預言；預料，預計).
Officials say since Taiwan opened up its marker to imports of U-S pork in January, customs authorities have checked all 400 batches of imported pork from around the world and found no traces of ractopamine in any of them.
Transport Minister Lin Chia-lung says the government has allocated 8.5-billion N-T for the development of electric buses over the next four years.
The funding is part of a program to upgrade all of the island's gasoline and diesel-powered public buses to electric ones by 2030.
According to Lin, the government believes the development of electric buses will increase the usage (使用) of public transportation systems and spur growth in the island's electric vehicle industry.
Lin says it's hoped that the electric vehicle sector can become one of Taiwan's so-called 'strategic industries' within the next 10 years.
The World Health Organization says it will be sending more than 11,000 vaccinations to the West African nation of Guinea in the coming days to help fight against the recent (最近的；最新的；近來的) Ebola epidemic.
WHO officials say the 11,000 doses are being prepared in Geneva and are expected to arrive in Guinea over the weekend.
An additional 8,600 doses will be shipped from the United States as well.
The vaccination campaign could start as early as Monday.
Health officials hope to stem the spread of Ebola in the region, which experienced the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history from 2014 to 2016 that killed more than 11,300 people.
NASA has successfully landed the robotic rover Perseverance on the planet Mars, where it will now search (搜查；搜索) for signs of past life.
US correspondent Ira Spitzer has more Meanwhile....
Nicaragua has created a new National Ministry for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.
The agency was approved by 76 legislators in the country's congress, which is dominated by President Daniel Ortega's Sandinista Party.
The ministry will be under the control of the nation's army, though it is not clear exactly what the ministry is supposed to do.
Critics said the country does not have the money to spare (額外的，備用的；多餘的) for space exploration.
It has yet to acquire any coronavirus vaccines and has been in a deep social and economic crisis since the government quashed mass protests in 2018.