SOCIETY
Amis nation’s largest group
The Amis remained Taiwan’s biggest Aboriginal group last year, accounting for 37.1 percent of the nation’s indigenous people, the Ministry of Interior said on Saturday. The ministry said that there were 540,023 Aboriginal residents last year, up 1.2 percent from the previous year. Their average age is 33.7, compared with an average age of 39.8 for all Taiwanese. The top three Aboriginal communities were the Amis with 200,604 people, or 37.1 percent of the total, the Paiwan with 96,334 (17.8 percent) and the Atayal with 85,888 (15.9 percent). Hualien County had the most Aboriginal residents, with 91,675, or 17 percent of the total number of indigenous inhabitants in the nation. Taitung County came in second with 14.7 percent and Taoyuan was third with 12.1 percent. In terms of the ratio of Aborigines to the overall population in each county or city, Taitung County had the highest number with 35.5 percent, followed by Hualien County with 27.5 percent and Pingtung County with 6.9 percent.
SOCIETY
Peng, Sui top lovers’ list
Actor Eddie Peng (彭于晏) and actress Sonia Sui (隋棠) were selected as the most lusted-after dream lovers among female and male office workers respectively, according to the results of a recent survey by the yes123 job bank. In a multiple choice survey ahead of Valentine’s Day on Saturday, 31-year-old Peng won the votes of 26 percent of the female respondents to top the male dream lover list, beating Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城武), 41, and Wilson Chen (陳柏霖), 31. Kaneshiro drew the backing of 23.1 percent, while Chen got 20.9 percent. Sui, 34, took the title on the female front, earning support from 22.1 percent of the respondents, followed by actress Puff Kuo (郭雪芙), 26, and TV host Smire Weng (翁滋蔓), 28, who tied with 21.5 percent each. The online survey was conducted between Jan. 20 and Tuesday last week among office workers under the age of 39. It collected 1,362 valid samples, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.66 percentage points.
SOCIETY
Hunter killed by friend
A 69-year-old man was shot dead after a friend mistook him for a boar during a pig hunt in Miaoli County on Friday, local police said on Saturday. The man, surnamed Chen (陳), was taking part in a monthly hunting trip with three friends on Friday night, but fell behind the others because his headlight was broken, police said. After the group spread out, one man sensed some movement in nearby bushes and fired a shot, but it turned out that he hit Chen. Chen’s friends were taken into custody, the police said, adding that the weapon used in the shooting was not a legitimate hunting weapon.
SOCIETY
Niceness pays off in poll
“Nice” Taiwanese topped the list of nine benefits to living in the nation, according to a survey conducted by the American Chamber of Taipei (AmCham Taipei) among its members late last year. Taiwanese are “extremely nice” and “my family feels safe in Taiwan” were top responses to the survey conducted in November and December last year, according to the results of the AmCham survey posted on its official Web site. Other benefits cited were: Taiwan is an easy country to live in; it provides quality medical and dental services; it provides a wide range of transportation alternatives to driving; it delivers reliable electricity; it provides adequate shopping opportunities; mobile telephone coverage is excellent and the postal service is excellent.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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