Taiwan has risen to 26th in a global start-up ecosystem rankings report, up four notches from last year, the Ministry of Science and Technology said yesterday.
The rankings were complied by StartupBlink, an Israel-based global start-up ecosystem map and research center, in conjunction with the ministry’s Taiwan Tech Arena, listing about 1,000 cities and 100 countries.
In The Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report 2021, Taiwan ranked 26th globally, although it remained seventh in the Asia-Pacific region.
Taiwan was 14th on the “Hardware & IoT” subindex and 15th on the “Health Technology” subindex, the report said.
Among the 1,000 cities in the report, Taipei was listed 41st, up one notch from last year, while five other Taiwanese cities — Hsinchu, Taoyuan, Tainan, Taichung and Kaohsiung — made the rankings for the first time.
The nation’s performance in the start-up ecosystem has gained international recognition through the efforts of government agencies and the private sector, which has helped consolidate its status in deep tech and other emerging industries, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan rose three places from last year to 17th in The COVID-19 Innovation Report compiled by the UNAIDS Health Innovation Exchange and StartupBlink, placing it among the 32 best-performing countries, the ministry said.
The greater Taipei area advanced on the list of 80 cities in the innovation rankings from 10th last year to ninth, it said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper