■ LABOR
Taiwan labor ‘mostly free’
The Washington-based Freedom House has listed Taiwan as “mostly free” in a report on labor rights it released earlier this week. In “The Global State of Workers’ Rights: Free Labor in a Hostile World,” Taiwan and Japan, along with 36 other countries, were included in the “mostly free” group — the second best of five classifications used by the independent watchdog organization. South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and 38 other countries received the top ranking of “free”; China, Singapore, Afghanistan, Cambodia and 22 others were in the “repressive” group; and 14 countries including Myanmar, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam received the worst ranking of “very repressive.” After assessing trade unions and worker freedom in 165 countries, Freedom House said that one-third of the global population lives in societies in which “workers’ rights suffer a significant degree of repression.”
■AGRICULTURE
COA thanks fruit buyers
The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday expressed gratitude toward 16 enterprises and government units for purchasing overproduced fruit. Companies such as Yulon Group, First Bank, Quanta Computer and government ministries including the Ministry of National Defense bought 1,480 tonnes of bananas, papayas, guavas and oranges this year to help farmers handle the glut, the council said. Agriculture and Food Agency Director-General Chen Wen-deh (陳文德) said measures have been taken to deal with the problem, including decreasing farm lands devoted to fruit. For example, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp has cut the amount of farmland it leases to banana farmers from 1,900 hectares in 2006 to 500 hectares this year, Chen said. Banana sales often slow in the domestic market in July and August because many other types of fruit are available in the summer, council officials said.
■AGRICULTURE
Kinmen cattle shipped
Fourteen yellow cattle bred on Kinmen were shipped to Taiwan proper on Friday, the first live cattle to be sent outside Kinmen since a 10-year ban came to an end at the end of last year. The ban was launched in 1999 because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, almost causing the collapse of Kinmen’s livestock industry. Before the ban, there were about 5,000 head of cattle in Kinmen, local breeder Hsueh Hseng-shen (薛承琛) said. “Kinmen paid a painful price” for an epidemic that resulted from smuggling cattle from China, he said. Hsueh said Kinmen was a perfect place to raise cattle thanks to Kaoliang Liquor distillery cellars, which provide high-quality feed — distillers’ grains — for livestock.
■TRADE
Processed meats get nod
The COA said yesterday that Taiwan would be able to sell about 50 types of processed meat products to China after the two sides complete negotiations on the quarantine and inspection of agricultural products. The 50 items will include cooked pork, chicken and dumplings, said Hsu Kuei-sen (許桂森), chief of the Animal Husbandry Department. However, Hsu said he was not sure when the arrangements on quarantine and inspection would be finalized. All 50 products would carry the certified agricultural standards (CAS) logo, he said, adding that the COA has registered Taiwan’s CAS logo in China twice over the past five years to prevent it from being used by Chinese businesses. Taiwan launched the CAS program in 1989 to promote its agricultural products.
‘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
RSS