ENVIRONMENT
WRA orders water rationing
First-phase water rationing is to be implemented in Tainan and Chiayi County from Wednesday, as heavy rains over most of the nation on Friday were insufficient to replenish water supplies there. State-run Taiwan Water Corp (台灣自來水) said it will carry out the measure as ordered by the Water Resources Agency (WRA). First-phase water rationing began in Kaohsiung on March 20, and it began in Taoyuan and Hsinchu, as well as New Taipei City’s Linkou (林口), Banciao (板橋) and Sinjhuang (新莊) districts, early last month. Under the measure, water pressure is reduced between 11pm and 6am, Taiwan Water said, adding that government agencies and state-run companies will be barred from turning on fountains, watering plants and washing the exterior of their buildings with water from the mains supply.
TOURISM
Poll shows market potential
More than 80 percent of Taiwanese aged 55 or above take at least two trips per year, according to a survey released on Saturday by the Institute for Information Industry. The survey showed that 45.9 percent of people 55 or older take between two and four trips per year in Taiwan or abroad, while 24.1 percent take between five and 11 trips per year. Another 10 percent take more than 12 trips per year, highlighting the considerable potential of the age bracket in the tourism market, the institute said. Travelers in the age bracket on average spend NT$3,792 per person per trip and the most popular trips were those within the NT$1,000 to NT$3,000 price range, the survey found. Women tend to spend more than men, spending an average of NT$4,416 per outing compared with NT$3,159 spent by men, it showed.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last