DEMOGRAPHICS
Population decreases
The population decreased last month, marking the 14th consecutive month of declines, Ministry of the Interior data showed. Taiwan’s population at the end of last month was 23,384,614, down 11,435 from the end of January, the data showed. The birthrate of 5.80 per 1,000 people was lower than the death rate of 12.20 per 1,000, the data showed. Net migration had a minimal effect, with 122,992 people moving in during the month, while 122,946 departed, the data showed.
POLITICS
Buddhists sign petition
At least 1,500 Buddhists, including 200 Buddhist masters, had signed a petition in support of a recall campaign against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as of yesterday, United Microelectronics founder and former chief executive officer Robert Tsao (曹興誠) told a news conference in Taipei. Tsao, the spokesman for the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Volunteers Alliance heading the recall movement, called on Buddhists to support the recall campaign as a way of practicing dana (“generosity” in Sanskrit) by giving “the gift of freedom from fear.” Buddhist master Shih Cheng-ding (釋正定) told the same news conference that Taiwan’s Buddhism has long been affected by the Chinese Communist Party’s “united front” tactics.
GOVERNMENT
Foundations tout initiatives
The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the London-based Westminster Foundation for Democracy on Thursday issued a joint statement promoting “smart parliament” initiatives. The statement outlines a mutual commitment to developing “safety, multi-stakeholder participation, artificial intelligence, responsiveness and transparency,” Westminster foundation board member Duncan Hames told a signing ceremony in Taipei. “We hope that our cooperation will help foster democratic values, practices and wider partnerships among our democracies.” That 47 of Taiwan’s 113 legislators are women reflects Taiwan’s democratic achievements and its progress on gender equality, said Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), chairman of the Taiwan foundation.
GOVERNMENT
NPA, Taipei police censured
The Control Yuan yesterday censured the National Police Agency (NPA), the Taipei City Police Department and a Taipei police precinct for failing to properly supervise officers in their handling of a child abuse case last year. Improper use of restraints on a suspect and failure to uphold investigative confidentiality were among the issues in the case related to a social worker surnamed Chen (陳), the Control Yuan said in a report. The case involved two sisters who worked as foster caregivers. They were accused of abusing a one-year-old boy, leading to his death in late 2023. Chen was under investigation on suspicion of falsifying reports of visits to where the sisters housed the child and negligence leading to his death. She was handcuffed while being transferred for questioning on March 12 last year. The decision to cuff her in full view of the media sparked a public outcry. Police planned Chen’s transfer route to maximize media exposure and even persuaded her to briefly pose for photographers, the report said. Officers contravened multiple regulations regarding criminal procedure, the use of restraints and confidentiality in investigations, while the prosecutor in charge also failed to remove Chen’s handcuffs during questioning, breaching judicial procedures, it said.
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
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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