Taiwan ranks fifth in a national wealth rating of developing countries compiled by the World Paper and Money Matters Institute, up a notch from a year ago.
The Wealth of Nations Triangle Index has been issued annually since 1996. It measures the balanced development potential of 70 developing countries around the world in terms of three subindexes -- economic environment, social environment and information exchanges -- on the premise that sustainable growth is dependent on balance. With a total of 63 variables, 21 variables in each of the three subindexes are gauged.
In the newly released 2004 Wealth of Nations Triangle Index for last year, Taiwan ranked fifth with a total score of 1,816, one place up from the 2003 rating.
South Korea ranked top in the 2003 survey, but dropped two notches to third place in the rating for last year. South Korea and Taiwan were the only two Asian countries to make the top 10 list for 2004.
Slovenia topped last year's rating followed by Israel, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Taiwan, Estonia, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Lithuania and Latvia. Seven of the top 10 nations were East European countries.
China ranked 27th, up seven notches from the 2003 rating. In terms of the economic-environment index, China ranked sixth, higher than Slovenia and Taiwan, but its social environment rating was very low.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese