EMPLOYMENT
New job openings increase
The number of new job openings last month was up more than 3 percent from the previous month, mainly driven by vacancies in the hospitality industry, the Council of Labor Affairs reported. About 130,400 new jobs were offered last month, up from 126,200 the previous month, the council said, citing data from government-run employment counseling agencies around the nation. The outcome was mainly driven by increases in the hospitality business, which added 3,679 jobs last month, followed by the wholesale and retail industry, which added 2,870 vacancies. The increase, which bucked a trend in which a decline had been recorded in September the previous three years, showed that the domestic job market is stable, despite economic uncertainties at home and abroad, the council said. Another industry that has seen increasing demand for workers in recent years is transportation and warehousing, the council added.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
More spies recruited
The military has increased its staff assigned to counterintelligence against China, since Beijing has not promised to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) said on Wednesday. China has never ceased its efforts to collect military intelligence on Taiwan, and the military in April boosted its number of counterintelligence agents, Yen said before reporting to the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in Taipei. He was responding to local media reports that the military has reinstated an anti-Chinese intelligence unit after a 12-year hiatus in light of media reports that retired Taiwanese officers have been recruited by Chinese intelligence.
SOCIETY
Taipei’s ranking slips
Taipei has the eighth-best reputation among Asian cities this year, according to an international consulting firm, but saw its global ranking slip in the annual study. The only Taiwanese city to make the list, Taipei ranked 69th globally with a score of 56.5 points, a drop from last year’s 61.3 points and 54th place, on this year’s City RepTrak Study. The annual study was conducted by the New York and Copenhagen-based Reputation Institute. It ranked cities based on trust, esteem, admiration and respect, and perceptions of 13 attributes in the categories of advanced economy, appealing environment and effective government. Among Asian cities, Osaka in Japan was rated the most reputable, with a score of 71.4 points in 26th place.
ART
Rubber Duck inflated
The inflation of the giant Rubber Duck that wowed crowds in Greater Kaohsiung in the past month was completed yesterday in Taoyuan County after it was postponed by a day due to inclement weather, Taoyuan County Government officials said. County government workers said the inflation went smoothly after the strong winds had abated. They spent 45 minutes inflating the immense floating installation artwork. Unlike its earlier display at Kaohsiung Harbor, the world-famous giant bath toy will be ensconced in the unique pond-dotted landscape in the county’s Sinwu Township (新屋) as part of a landscape festival to be held between tomorrow and Nov. 10. As a result, people can expect a different kind of viewing experience as they will see the duck in the context of coastal bike rides, tourist farms, fresh seafood restaurants and sunsets over the Taiwan Strait, Taoyuan County Tourism Promotion Bureau officials said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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