■ Economics
Employment expected to rise
Benefiting from a strong economic recovery, Taiwan's unemployment rate has continued to decline over the past several months, with the monthly figure expected to drop to 4.8 percent last month from September's 4.9 percent, Lehman Brothers said yesterday. Lehman Brothers senior analyst Rob Subbaraman in his latest report continued to forecast healthy growth for the nation's economy, with the stock market continuing to expand throughout early next year. Subbaraman attributed the optimistic prospects to strong growth in Taiwan's export trade and the nation's rising level of foreign exchange reserves, which are now the "most competitive" of their kind since the 1970s. Subbaraman said Taiwan's stock market will be one of the markets offering the greatest potential in the Asia-Pacific region in the upcoming several months in terms of market growth.
■ Health
Symposium on dengue opens
An international symposium on cross-border cooperation in preventing and controlling dengue fever among APEC members opened in Kaohsiung yesterday. Nearly 200 epidemiologists, medical professionals and government officials from APEC member countries including the host, Taiwan, are taking part in the three-day symposium being held at the Ambassador Hotel. The participants are expected to exchange views on policies and measures on dengue fever control and prevention in APEC member countries, as well as on the dengue fever situation in individual countries.
■ Transportation
Flights to islands sought
In response to Mandarin Airlines' decision to cancel flights to offshore islands next year, government officials are working on legal revisions that would open the door to several investors willing to provide exclusive service to the islands. Civil Aeronautics Administration General Director Billy Chang (張國政) confirmed yesterday that the new amendments would aim to solve the chronic problem of needing to find an airline company willing to fly to the islands. The revisions would allow for the establishment of an airline that would fly only to the offshore islands. Unlike Mandarin Airlines, the new provider would not be subsidized by the government. Chang also said laws would reconsider allowing private jets to fly the offshore island routes. The revisions should take effect in two years' time. Mandarin Airlines is currently the only airline company providing service to the offshore islands, including Green Island (綠島), Lanyu (蘭嶼), Chimei (七美), and Wangan (望安).
■ Social activities
Singles event planned
Two female legislators of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday that they will host a reception on Dec. 7 in Hsinchu for unmarried employees of companies in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park. Legislators Chang Tsai-mei (張蔡美) and Hsu Sao-ping (徐少萍) said at a press conference that unmarried young men and young women are welcome to attend the social gathering. The two legislators are members of the "Ching Kuo Hui," or the Women's Association, which is an active subgroup of the KMT. Chang said most unmarried young men in the industrial park may prove to be good husbands. She said that, according to a recent survey, 48 percent of these young men have never fallen in love with a woman because they are too busy with their jobs to make friends with people they like.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
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