Taipei City was again rated the best place to live in the country, followed by Hsinchu City and Tainan City, according to the results of an annual survey released by CommonWealth magazine earlier this week.
Rounding out the top 10 this year were Taichung City, Penghu County, Taoyuan County, Kaohsiung City, Miaoli County, Hualien County and Chiayi City, in that order.
Taipei County recorded the largest improvement, leaping eight notches from 21st place last year to 13th this year.
The second-largest improvement was recorded by Kaohsiung City — the host of the World Games 2009 — whose ranking was up by six notches.
On the other hand, Keelung City and Yunlin County were at the bottom of the list for the third consecutive year.
Among those seeing the greatest regression were Chiayi City, whose ranking plunged from fourth last year to 10th this year, and Taichung County, whose ranking dropped from 12th three years ago to 20th this year.
This year’s survey evaluated a total of 54 indicators grouped into five categories: economy, environment, governance, education and social welfare. Besides official statistics, the measurement also included opinion surveys conducted among 10,225 residents in the 23 counties and cities around Taiwan between July 18 and Aug. 14.
Hsinchu City was also the top performer in terms of governance, with approximately 70 percent of residents describing the city government as highly efficient. It was followed by Taoyuan County, Penghu County, Taichung City and Taipei City, in that order.
In terms of education, Hsinchu Mayor Lin Junq-tzer (林政則) was named the local government chief who paid the greatest attention to education, whereas Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) was rated fourth from the bottom, even though Taipei City enjoys the richest educational resources nationwide.
Chiayi City and Hualien County performed the best in terms of social welfare. While Chiayi City has the country’s highest number of physicians and hospital beds per population, Hualien County was cited for its efforts in improving child welfare.
On the approval ratings of local government chiefs, Hsinchu Mayor Lin and Taoyuan County Commissioner Eric Chu (朱立倫) were again the top two performers, with 74 percent of Hsinchu residents and 73 percent of Taoyuan residents expressing satisfaction with their respective administration.
Though enjoying high visibility, Hau and Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) took 17th place and 21st place respectively.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is