Taiwan fruits shown on a trade fair on Sept 28, 2015, in Nanjing International Expo Center, Jiangsu province, attract visitors. [Photo/VCG] TAIPEI -- Taiwan's exports slumped for the fifth consecutive month in March as weakness in global demand weighed on its electronics products, according to the latest trade data. Exports fell 4.4 percent year on year in March to 28.68 billion US dollars, while imports rose 6.6 percent from the previous year to 25.56 billion US dollars. For the first quarter, exports fell 4.2 percent from a year earlier to 76.36 billion US dollars, snapping a rallying streak of 10 quarters, while imports shed 0.8 percent to 67.41 billion US dollars in the first three months, trimming trade surplus to 8.95 billion US dollars. Trade authorities warned of further decline in exports due to weak global growth. In March, declines were reported in most of Taiwan's main export products -- ranging from electronic components, metals and their products, to plastic and rubber prodcuts. The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong remained the biggest destination for Taiwan exports, followed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, Europe, and Japan. design your own silicone wristbandssilicone diabetic braceletslokai rubber braceletsilicone wristband braceletsilicone wristbands edmonton
Children learn about earcare in Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on March 3, 2017. [Photo/Baotou Daily] BEIJING -- Chinese experts have called for improved awareness of hearing impairment and increasing the use of hearing aids as the country has about 100 million people with hearing disabilities. Long Mo, deputy director of the China Rehabilitation Research Center for Hearing and Speech Impairment, said only 7.9 percent of Chinese who suffer from medium-level or worse hearing impairments use hearing aids or artificial cochleas. Gao Zhiqiang, director of the Department of Otolaryngology with the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said people also tend to make mistakes in wearing hearing aids, causing further deterioration of their hearing abilities. Patients with hearing loss in both ears are recommended to wear hearing aids on both sides, Gao said. But only 15 percent of those wearing hearing aids go through fitting for both of their ears. Wang Shuo, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, said hearing aids with Chinese language processors can help improve the equipment's recognition of speech and therefore better suit users whose mother tongue is Chinese.
