DIPLOMACY
MOFA helps relief efforts
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it would donate US$800,000 for recovery efforts in the US states most severely affected by Hurricane Helene, including US$300,000 each to Florida and North Carolina, and US$200,000 to Georgia. “Taiwan is frequently hit by typhoons in summer and autumn” and “deeply empathizes with those who have suffered tremendous losses in life and property” due to Hurricane Helene, the ministry said. The funds aim to help US residents reconstruct their homes and get back to their normal lives, the ministry said, adding that its overseas missions in Miami and Atlanta would soon discuss with relevant US agencies how to make the donations. Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on the evening of Sept. 26. It has killed more than 230 people and caused at least US$30 billion in damage.
Photo: AFP
CRIME
Workers probed in China
Four Taiwanese employees of Foxconn’s factory in Zhengzhou, a major Apple supplier, are under investigation in China on suspicion of accepting bribes and embezzling funds, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said on Friday. Authorities are handling the case in accordance with the law while ensuring the protection of the suspects’ legal rights, TAO spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said. Reports said the Taiwanese employees were accused of accepting bribes, with two facing embezzlement allegations. The Zhengzhou police arrested and detained the four employees on charges equivalent to a “breach of trust” offense in Taiwan, but Foxconn said that it has suffered no losses and that the employees have not harmed the company’s interests.
AWARDS
Taiwan film gets top award
Taiwanese film Yen and Ai-Lee (小雁與吳愛麗) on Friday won the Busan International Film Festival’s (BIFF) top prize, the Kim Jiseok Award, marking the first time a Taiwanese film received the award. Village Rockstars 2, a film coproduced by India and Singapore, also received the Kim Jiseok Award. The Taiwanese film was “an unfinishing and bold portrayal of a traumatic mother and daughter relationship, with powerful and beautiful performances,” the BIFF said. The 108 minute black-and-white film was directed by Tom Lin (林書宇), and features actresses Yang Kuei-mei (楊貴媚) and Kimi Hsia (夏于喬). Meanwhile, Another Home (日泰小食), a film coproduced by Taiwan, Hong Kong and France, won the Mecenat Award for documentaries. The 84-minute film, directed by Hong Kong director Frankie Sin (冼澔楊), is about an elderly couple and their food stall on Cheung Chau Island in Hong Kong.
ENTERTAINMENT
Taiwan play joins festival
This Is Not an Embassy (Made in Taiwan), a play exploring the complexities of national identity in Taiwan, is to be performed next month at the Paris Arts Festival, an event organizer said. It would be the first Taiwanese piece to appear at the 52-year-old festival, festival art director Francesca Corona said. It was coproduced by German theatre group Rimini Protokoll and the National Theatre of Taipei. The play centers around a fictional Republic of China (Taiwan) embassy, set in a miniature decor, and features three performers who are Taiwanese. It presents complex topics in a nuanced way, without oversimplification or polarization, Corona said. The 105-minute show is to be performed in English and Mandarin, with French and English subtitles, at the MC93 public multicultural venue from Nov. 14 to Nov. 17.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61