POLITICS
Tsai makes Swiss list
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been listed as one of five “women we will talk about in 2023” by Swiss media. The article published on Tuesday by 24 Heures and La Tribune de Geneve described Tsai as a “president who dares to confront Beijing.” Tsai did not hesitate to link Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Taiwan’s situation and reiterate that there is no room for compromise when defending democracy, the article said, adding that her words would be of great importance as next year’s presidential election approaches. It also noted her achievements as Taiwan’s first female president and in overseeing the legalization of marriage equality in 2019. The other women named were Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, US Vice President Kamala Harris and British Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles.
CRIME
Man nabbed over fake bills
A courier in Changhua County was on Wednesday arrested after 207 counterfeit banknotes of varying amounts were allegedly seized from his vehicle and home a day earlier, local police said yesterday. Two NT$1,000, five NT$500 and 200 NT$100 fake bills were discovered at the residence of the man, surnamed Lai (賴), in Dacun Township (大村) by police, who acted on a tip-off received on Tuesday. Lai told police that he spent NT$4,698 to buy 660 counterfeit banknotes online in November and that he had been giving customers the notes as change over the past three months. Police estimated that as of Wednesday, Lai might have racked up about NT$40,000 in illegal gains. At least four people had been known to have received fake bills, they said.
HEALTH
COVID-19 cases down 20%
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 18,414 COVID-19 infections, including 390 imported cases, and 48 deaths. The number of cases dropped 20.4 percent from the same day a week earlier, it said. The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. All but six had underlying health issues, while 27 of them were not vaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said. New Taipei City reported the highest number of new cases with 3,775, followed by Kaohsiung with 2,164 and Taichung with 2,145. Taoyuan reported 1,989 new cases, Taipei 1,917, Tainan 1,518, Changhua County 731, Hsinchu County 576, Hsinchu City 486, Miaoli County 426, Yunlin County 358, Keelung 354, Pingtung County 342 and Yilan County 245. Chiayi County had 231 cases, Hualien County 208, Nantou County 205, Chiayi City 139, Taitung County 96, Kinmen County 72, Penghu County 33 and Lienchiang County 14, the CECC said.
FOOD
Instant noodles seized
A shipment of instant noodles from South Korea was seized at the border, after being found to contain residue of a banned disinfectant, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday. A total of 1,128kg of Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles with tofu and kimchi imported by Shing Her International was confiscated after sample testing on Dec. 9 detected 0.075mg/kg of ethylene oxide in the product’s seasoning sachets, the FDA said. Ethylene oxide, a widely used industrial product, is banned in foods in Taiwan, as it is classified as a first-class carcinogen. Long-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer and cause central nervous or peripheral neuropathy, it said. The Nongshim Shin Ramyun noodles would either be returned to the country of origin or destroyed, it added.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS