DIPLOMACY
Ma aims for Slovakia treaty
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the nation hoped to negotiate a treaty with Slovakia to avoid double taxation and enhance business collaboration. Taiwan also hopes to sign a working holiday visa agreement and a driver’s license reciprocity agreement with Slovakia, Ma said during a meeting with Ivan Stefanec, chairman of the Slovak-Taiwanese Parliamentary Friendship Group, along with a delegation of Slovakian members of parliament and government officials, at the Presidential Office. It is the first time that high-ranking officials from Slovakia have visited Taiwan, the Presidential Office said. Ma said several leading Taiwanese technology companies, such as electronics contract maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and flat panel maker AU Optronics Corp, have invested in Slovakia.
EDUCATION
Education forum to begin
Academics, university leaders and policymakers from the Asia-Pacific region will gather at a conference in Taipei from tomorrow through Sunday. The Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) meeting will focus on the theme “Asia-Pacific Education: Impacting the World,” the organizers said yesterday. Founded in 2004 by Lee Doo-hee, vice president and professor at Korea University, the APAIE is recognized as one of the three most influential associations in the world, said Lee Si-chen (李嗣涔), president of National Taiwan University, which is hosting the event. Lee said more than 600 people working at institutions of higher education in 40 countries would participate in the conference, which he said would provide a good opportunity for local universities to forge ties with neighbors in the region.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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