People in Taiwan enjoy a “moderate level” of happiness compared with their peers in nations in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the national happiness index released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday.
The national happiness index — compiled from a total of 24 indicators in 11 categories and based on the OECD’s Better Life Index — stood at 6.64 points this year, the DGBAS said.
Taiwan ranks 19th among the countries assessed in the two indexes.
“Taiwan’s level of happiness is in the middle,” DGBAS Minister Shih Su-mei (石素梅) told a press conference.
Australia is the OECD’s happiest nation with an index reading of 7.95 points, followed by Sweden and Canada, the report showed.
Among the Asian nations surveyed, Taiwan ranked the highest, ahead of Japan and South Korea, which were rated 27th and 28th respectively.
Among the 11 categories, Taiwan was ranked third for safety, which the DGBAS attributed to relatively few violent crimes, the report said.
In addition, Taiwan ranked highly in the categories related to living conditions, housing, and income and jobs, placing ninth, fourth and 10th respectively, the report said.
However, the nation’s environment ranking stayed at 35th, and DGBAS said that was a reflection of the impact of the large number of motorcycles and industrial activity.
Shih said the results showed Taiwan’s material living conditions are better than its quality of life.
Notably, the category of life satisfaction in Taiwan was ranked 25th, the DGBAS said, mentioning the results of a Gallup World Poll last year, when respondents in Taiwan gave themselves 6.1 points out of 10 points when measuring their living conditions.
The DGBAS said the risk of cultural bias remains when comparing subjective life satisfaction across different nations, with people in eastern Asian countries often avoiding extreme answers.
The report came after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) instructed the DGBAS to prepare a national happiness index last year to gauge the nation’s living conditions.
The DGBAS said it would release the happiness index annually.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it plans to revise the export control list for strategic high-tech products by adding 18 items under three categories — advanced 3D printing equipment, advanced semiconductor equipment and quantum computers — which would require local manufacturers to obtain licenses for their export. The ministry’s announcement yesterday came as the International Trade Administration issued a 60-day preview period for planned revisions to the Export Control List for Dual Use Items and Technology (軍商兩用貨品及技術出口管制清單) and the Common Military List (一般軍用貨品清單), which fall under regulations governing export destinations for strategic high-tech commodities and specific strategic high-tech commodities. The
RSS