Three US Democratic Party candidates of Taiwanese descent in won their races in New York state, including former New York City comptroller John Liu (劉醇逸), who will become the first Taiwan-born New York state senator.
Liu ran in one of the most tense races in the state, a four-way competition that included New York state Senator Tony Avella, whom he defeated in the party primary in September, Republican Party challenger Vickie Paladino and Conservative Party nominee Simon Minching.
Liu won 54 percent of the vote, while Paladino won 30 percent, Avella’s 20 percent and Mincheng’s 1.4 percent, unofficial results show.
Photo: CNA
Liu , whose family moved to the US when he was five, said that he was proud to be a Taiwanese-American and was proud to be voted into office.
US Representative Grace Meng (孟昭文), who represents New York’s sixth congressional district, faced a challenge from Green Party candidate Tom Hillgardner, but secured a fourth consecutive term to the US House of Representatives with 91 percent of the votes.
New York State Assembly member Niou Yuh-line (牛毓琳), who was born in Taipei, represents the state’s 65th district, won re-election to her seat.
In November 2016, Niou became the first Asian-American to be voted to the State Assembly for the 65th district, which includes the heavily Democratic Lower Manhattan, Chinatown, the Financial District, Battery Park City and Lower East Side.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by