Taiwan’s economic growth is predicted to remain steady at 3.29 percent this year, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and other emergent technologies, the National Development Council (NDC) said today in its report on the year’s economic trends at the Executive Yuan.
The global economy is to see steady growth this year, despite changes to US trade policies, geopolitical tensions, an economic slowdown in China and extreme weather phenomena, the report said.
Taiwan’s economy is resilient, and the rapid expansion of new technologies such as AI would help to boost exports and drive investment, it said.
Photo: Reuters
Domestic private consumption would continue to steadily increase due to a stable domestic job market, as well as salary increases for military personnel, civil servants and teachers and a rise in the minimum wage, the report said.
Increased profits would also incentivize businesses to pay higher salaries and award more bonuses, increasing domestic purchasing power, it added.
Exports are also set to grow amid a rebound in global trade and Taiwan’s domestic supply chains advantages, while business opportunities are growing due to AI and high-performance computing, it added.
In terms of domestic investment, semiconductor production is boosting domestic manufacturing processes, production capacity, and high-end packaging and testing capacity, attracting international manufacturers to establish research and development and data centers in Taiwan, it said.
As businesses are moving toward net-zero carbon emissions and digital transformation, investment is continuing to grow and would be key to this year’s estimated economic growth, it said.
To mitigate external factors destabilizing the economy, the government continues to closely monitor global economic and political shifts and work to strengthen the Taiwan-US trade partnership, it added.
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.
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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