Taiwan's consumer prices in April rose 0.22 percent from a year ago largely due to higher prices in alcohol and tobacco after the country's entry into the WTO, official data showed yesterday.
The March consumer price index (CPI) stood at 104.03 points (given the 1996 benchmark of 100), posting a rise for the third consecutive year, said the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
The figure was also 1.02 percent higher from the previous month as a result of the introduction of spring and summer clothing, and seasonal changes for fresh vegetables, the DGBAS said in a statement.
DGBAS statistics bureau director Chen Chang-shang (
When asked how any hike in water rates would impact consumer prices, Chen said a 10 percent increase would push CPI up by an extra 0.052 percentage points and wholesale price index (WPI) growth by 0.03 percentage points.
Taiwan last week imposed nationwide water restrictions to battle one of its worst droughts in decades.
Escalating concerns over severe water shortage, which also threatened the country's money-spinning high-tech companies, sent the Taiwan stock index plummeting 267.84 points or 4.5 percent to 5,642.48 yesterday.
Meanwhile, the WPI rose 0.50 percent from a year earlier to 96.28 (with a 1996 benchmark of 100), the first year-on-year rise since February 2001, Chen said.
The figure was also 0.91 percent higher compared to the previous month, he added. In the four months to April, the CPI rose 0.55 percent from a year earlier.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique