POLITICS
Race switch rumored
Former minister of transportation and communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who had said he would contest this year’s Taipei mayoral election, has been convinced by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to run for mayor of New Taipei City, a party insider said yesterday. Tsai, who is Democratic Progressive Party chairperson, spoke with Lin yesterday, the source said, adding that Lin also received telephone calls from other top DPP officials who urged him to run as the party’s candidate against New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Lin was moved by Tsai’s continual prodding, with the two having conversed on the matter several times before, the source said. The DPP is expected to finalize the details and make an official announcement on Wednesday, the source added.
SOCIETY
Population decline continues
The nation’s population continued to decline last month, with the number of people falling 1.2 percent year-on-year, household registration data released by the Ministry of the Interior yesterday showed. The total population stood at 23,186,278 at the end of last month, down by 301,231 from the same month last year and a drop of 0.8 percent, or 189,036 people, compared with six months earlier, the data showed. The month also had the most deaths — 21,033 — in the past six months, exceeding 20,000 for the first time in the past year. The 10,943 births last month, a crude birthrate of 5.74 per 1,000 people, brought the number of live births in Taiwan to 67,149 in the first six months this year, down 9 percent from the same period last year. Taiwan’s population shrank for the first time on record in 2020, with 165,249 births and 173,156 deaths, previous data showed.
EMPLOYMENT
Online services expanded
Migrant workers in Taiwan and their employers can now check online to track the progress of their employment-related documents, the Ministry of Labor said on Wednesday. The new system has a multilingual user interface that makes it easier for migrant workers to navigate the Web site in their native language and check the status of their work permit applications and employment renewal records, the ministry said. Migrant workers can also download some employment documents from the site, it said. With the launch of the new system, migrant workers can easily track and obtain their certificates of employment and employer transfer records online, once they log into the system, the ministry said. Employers can log in on the Workforce Development Agency’s (www.wda.gov.tw) application system to access foreign worker application documents, it said.
TRAVEL
Holiday flights announced
Bookings for 1,030 flights connecting Taiwan and its outlying islands from Sept. 8 to 12, which covers the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday weekend, are to open at 9am on Monday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday. To satisfy customer demand around and during the days off on Sept. 9 to 11, 96,172 seats would be available on flights between Taiwan proper and Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, the CAA said. There would be 53,288 seats on 552 flights on Taiwan-Penghu routes, while Taiwan-Kinmen and Taiwan-Lienchiang routes would have 33,384 seats on 338 flights and 9,500 seats on 140 flights respectively, it said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
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