TAX REBATE
Most Taiwanese claim cash
More than 16 million people have collected a NT$6,000 cash handout from the government, representing 70 percent of the population, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. About 4.2 million people who belong to special groups — such as National Pension Insurance recipients — were paid directly into their accounts. Meanwhile, 9.08 million people collected their allowance by direct deposit, Deputy Minister of Finance Juan Ching-hua (阮清華) said at a news conference. Eligible recipients can collect the handout from Monday to Oct. 31 at post offices by showing a National Health Insurance card. Those whose ID cards end with an odd number can collect on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while those with even numbers can do so on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. People aged 65 or older and those with disabilities are not subject to the restrictions.
SOCIETY
Ma to speak at Greek forum
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is to participate in a “fireside chat” at the Delphi Economic Forum later this month, sharing his views on the future of cross-strait relations based on his recent visit to China, his office said on Thursday. During a visit to Greece, Ma is scheduled to attend the forum’s opening ceremony on April 26, and then engage in a discussion on April 28 with Cheng Li (李成), director of the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center. Ma and Li are to discuss current geopolitical tensions in Asia and whether Taiwan is at risk of sharing Ukraine’s fate, Ma’s office said. The former president is interested in sharing his thoughts and observations about his China visit, which is a first for a former Taiwanese leader, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation executive director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said. Ma is expected to express the view that “Taiwan has another route to peace that differs from the policies of the Democratic Progressive Party, one that can ensure cross-strait harmony and regional stability,” Hsiao said.
SOCIETY
Fire kills one in Taitung
A 68-year-old man has died while a woman has been hospitalized for smoke inhalation after a fire ripped through a subdivided residential building in Taitung early on Thursday morning. Firefighters rescued three others from the blaze on Jingcheng Road, which was reported at 12:22am and extinguished by 2:30am, the Taitung County Fire Department said. Diesel fuel and wooden partitions used to subdivide rooms caused the fire to spread up the three-story building before engulfing a sheet metal structure on the roof, the department said. Firefighters found the body of a 68-year-old man surnamed Yang (楊) in one of the building’s rooms after extinguishing the fire, it said. A second, unrelated fire broke out in a building of similar construction about 500m from the first blaze at 6:30am, in which no one was harmed, the department said.
EARTHQUAKES
Two tremors strike Taitung
Two earthquakes of magnitude 4.1 and 3.6 struck Taitung County at 11:54am yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said. The epicenter of the bigger quake was in Taitung City, 4.2km north-northwest of Taitung County Hall, at a depth of 5km, it said. The magnitude 3.6 earthquake was centered about 10km away, in Beinan Township (卑南), 3.7km north-northwest of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 9.1km. On Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the largest tremor measured 4, while the other had an intensity of 3, it said. No damage or injuries were reported.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
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
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
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
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