■EMPLOYMENT
Funeral work more popular
In the past, most people tried to avoid working in the funeral business, but this has changed as people struggle to stay afloat in the current economic storm. The results of an open poll released yesterday by www.ejob.gov.tw, an employment service Web site run by the Council of Labor Affairs, showed that the funeral profession was the fifth most popular field out of 10 choices given to the respondents. The poll, which was launched on Feb. 1, drew 7,242 participants as of Thursday, 11.53 percent of whom indicated that they were interested in entering the funeral business. This was a more popular choice than the field of finance, which lost popularity after the global financial crisis began. In the poll, funeral services ranked fifth behind computer software and hardware development, which drew 18.02 percent of the vote. Second place was the restaurant and bakery business, with 16.64 percent, followed by child care services, with 15.21 percent and employment services, with 11.95 percent.
■TRAVEL
Visa fees for Thais waived
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced that it would waive the NT$1,600 visa application fee for all Thai passport holders when applying for a visa to Taiwan for the three months between March 5 and June 4, calling the waiver a reciprocal gesture. The courtesy was extended after Bangkok on Thursday announced that Taiwanese nationals would no longer have to pay a visa fee during the same period. MOFA said the privilege aimed to boost tourism between Thailand and Taiwan. Taiwan receives approximately 30,000 Thai tourists annually, while over 300,000 Taiwanese visit Thailand per year.
■POLITICS
Court annuls election result
The Taichung District Court yesterday annulled the election of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lien-fu (江連福) on vote-buying charges in the first civil suit brought by his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival Chien Chao-tung (簡肇棟). The verdict is not final and Chiang told reporters that he would appeal. Chien filed an annulment suit against Chiang last year on the grounds that he gave NT$50,000 to a Chien supporter. Chiang was also indicted on vote-buying charges in a criminal suit in January last year along with several others. Prosecutors sought a five-year sentence for Chiang, but the district court found him not guilty in May last year, saying that it was illegal for the DPP to collect vote-buying evidence against Chiang by videotaping him with a pinhole camera.
■POLITICS
DPP dismisses Chen son bid
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday dismissed a China Times Weekly magazine report that said former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) would run in a legislative election in Kaohsiung. Chen Chih-chung and his wife Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚) last week relocated their residence from Taipei City to Kaohsiung City. “I never heard anything like this,” DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday, adding that he thought Chen Chih-chung should prioritize the money-laundering case against him and his family. Echoing Ker’s remarks, DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said Chen Chih-chung should focus on his case. “If he really wants to run in legislative election, I will try to talk him out of it,” Wang said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
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