Hsinchu City’s Guanxin Borough (關新) again recorded the highest average annual household income among the nation’s boroughs in 2022, income tax data released yesterday by the Ministry of Finance showed.
The average annual household income in Guanxin was NT$4.611 million (US$142,096), topping all other boroughs or villages in Taiwan for the fifth consecutive year, the ministry-compiled data showed.
That figure rose 23 percent from NT$3.747 million in 2021.
Photo: Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
Guanxin, in the city’s East District (東區), is home to many technology professionals who work in the nearby Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), which houses more than 500 tech companies.
The median annual household income in Guanxin was NT$3.543 million, indicating that the borough was not only the richest of its kind, but its household income was also evenly distributed, compared with its peers.
Datong Borough (大同) in Hsinchu City’s North District (北區) was the second-richest borough in 2022, with an average annual income of NT$3.887 million.
However, its median income was only NT$726,000, suggesting a large wealth gap among its residents.
The third-richest borough or village was Jhongsin Borough (中興) in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北), with an average annual income of NT$3.475 million and a median income of NT$1.979 million, ministry data showed.
Yongfu Borough (永福) in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) was the fourth-richest borough, with an average annual income of NT$3.425 million and a median income of NT$738,000.
On Yangde Boulevard (仰德大道) in the Yangmingshan area, Yongfu was the only borough in Taipei to make the top five richest boroughs in 2022, although it fell two notches from the previous year, data showed.
Tongping Borough (東平), also in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei, was the fifth-richest borough with an average annual income of NT$3.36 million and a median income of NT$2.406 million.
The ministry’s data, which cover about 6.63 million households, showed that Hsinchu City topped the list of wealthiest cities in 2022 with an average annual household income of NT$1.505 million.
Hsinchu County ranked second with NT$1.34 million, followed by Taipei with NT$1.257 million, while the average annual household income in the other five special municipalities was between NT$790,000 and NT$850,000, the data showed.
Hsinchu City also ranked first for the average household wage, with NT$1.19 million, ahead of Hsinchu County with NT$1.08 million and Taipei with NT$850,000, while the other five special municipalities’ average household wages were between NT$540,000 and NT$630,000.
Meanwhile, Taipei topped other cities and counties in terms of dividend income, with NT$446,000 per household on average in 2022, followed by Hsinchu City with NT$292,000, the ministry’s data showed.
The dividend income per household in 20 other cities and counties was lower than the national average of NT$179,000.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the