■ HEALTH
Wu reaffirms vaccine safety
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday encouraged people who were hesitant about obtaining the locally produced A(H1N1) vaccine to trust in its safety, adding that the government hoped the number of vaccinated would hit 30 percent of the population. Pediatricians at major medical institutions confirmed on Sunday that the number of schoolchildren receiving the vaccine had declined sharply over the past week, primarily amid concerns over the safety of the vaccine after a seven-year-old boy died days after being immunized. The father of the boy, a physician, claims the vaccine was behind his death. After preliminary discussions, however, experts have concluded that the death was unrelated to the vaccine. Saying the death of the boy was regrettable, Wu said he admired the child’s parents for nevertheless encouraging the public to get vaccinated.
■ TRANSPORTATION
Railway marks reopening
Residents of Taitung County will celebrate today the reopening of the Taiwan Railway South Link Line, which had been closed since being damaged by Typhoon Morakot in August. A musical feast mixed with an Aboriginal dance performance has been organized for the grand reopening ceremony at Taitung Railway Station, station director Kao Ming-kuang (高銘光) said yesterday. To mark the event, tickets for the first train to set off from the station and for an express train departing for Kaohsiung City at 12:52pm will be distributed free, Kao said. Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) will attend the ceremony, during which he will ring a bell to launch the first train. The 98.2km-long South Link Line runs across southern Taiwan, connecting Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties.
‘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
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
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
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