Chang Yung-fa, founder of the Taiwan-based transportation and shipping conglomerate Evergreen Group, donated US$10 million to Sichuan Province on Saturday to support relief efforts there following a deadly earthquake.

Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen said Saturday that exchanges between civic groups from across the Taiwan Strait should begin before any dialogue is held on political issues.

China's increasing demand for low- and middle-end smartphones in the second quarter should lead to increased shipments by Taiwanese suppliers of mobile phone chips, packaged and tested chips, quartz-element products and passive components, an analyst said yesterday.

The National Security Bureau (NSB) believes that the Chinese military has shifted the emphasis of cyberattacks on Taiwan from government institutions to civilian think tanks, telecommunications service providers, Internet node facilities and traffic signal control systems, according to an NSB report.

Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會) sent a message Friday to Chen Deming (陳德銘), the newly elected head of the SEF's Chinese counterpart — the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS, 海協會) — to congratulate him on assuming office.

Following the first confirmed case of an H7N9 carrier's entry into Taiwan, business organizations on both sides of the strait have begun warning against unnecessary travel to and from the outbreak zone of Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday urged the nation to continue praying and making donations to the victims of the devastating earthquake in mainland China's Sichuan province.

Chaintech Co. (承啟科技), a Taiwan-based computer hardware manufacturer recently relinquished a board seat to Colorful (七彩虹集團), the company's China-based partner, representing a first in cross-strait commerce.

A team being sent by Taiwan's Red Cross Society to Sichuan Monday will assess the medical needs of the quake stricken province and when a medical team should be sent, one of three people headed to China for the Red Cross said yesterday.

Taiwan's semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) yesterday sent its Chinese counterpart a letter of condolence over the latest deadly earthquake that has killed at least 156 in China.