■ LITERATURE
Fair to showcase France
Next year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition, scheduled to open on Jan. 27, will play host to a record-setting number of French guests and events as it showcases France as the theme country. The Taipei Book Fair Foundation, the organizer of Asia’s biggest book fair, said France was chosen as the theme country because books in French and those translated from French into Chinese have enjoyed increasing popularity in Taiwan in recent years. Foundation chairman Linden Lin (林載爵) said France would send 40 people to participate at the exhibition, including renowned writers Muriel Barbery and Philippe Claudel, and the number of special activities being held to celebrate the theme country would also be the highest in the show’s history. Some 2,500 French publications will be on display and the National Library of France is preparing to exhibit some of its volumes from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The fair will take place from Jan. 27 to Feb. 1 at the Taipei World Trade Center’s three exhibition halls.
■ TRADE
WTO terms explained
Seven years after the nation joined the WTO, Taiwan has unveiled the first reference book of terms related to and associated with the regulatory body. The book, Decoding WTO — WTO Glossary, was compiled and published by the Chung Hwa Institution for Economic Research at the behest of the Bureau of Foreign Trade. Bureau Deputy Director-General Hsu Chun-fang (徐純芳) said the 372-page book includes more than 6.7 million terms and should become a handy and useful reference for civil servants, academics and professionals. The book’s editor, Hsu Tseng-chi (徐遵慈), said the reference work took a full year to compile. Hsu Tseng-chi first focused on trade-related entries so that the public could grasp WTO jargon.
■ EMPLOYMENT
Activists fear for jobs
The government should reconsider its plan to ease restrictions on hiring foreign caregivers and maids because such a move could deprive local middle-aged and older women of job opportunities, an advocacy group said. The Council of Labor Affairs is considering allowing families that have two members in their 80s or one member older than 90 and a toddler under one year to apply to hire foreign caregivers. “On the surface, the proposed liberalization is not large, but in effect, its impact on local women, particularly those in middle or senior age groups, would be great,” said Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉), chairman of the Peng Wan-ju Foundation. Lin said foreign caregivers usually have to do all sorts of household chores, such as cleaning the house, washing clothes and cooking, jobs that in many cases are currently done by middle-aged local women. As a result, middle-aged and senior women’s job opportunities could be affected, Lin said.
■ ECONOMY
Ministry to convene meeting
The Ministry of Economic Affairs will convene an inter-ministerial meeting before the end of the year to discuss ways of further improving Taiwan’s investment climate for capital from China. Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Huang Chung-chiu (黃重球) said yesterday the ministry would invite officials from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Education for discussions that are expected to focus on simplification of entry-exit procedures for Chinese investors and their employees, greater access to Taiwan’s schools and other matters, Huang said.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
WARNING: Domestic coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as they self-pollinate, but they are more likely to have consistency issues, an expert said Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed. Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said. Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said. Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said. It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption
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