SOCIETY
Kinmen to vote on casinos
A referendum is to be held in Kinmen County on Oct. 28 to allow residents to decide whether to allow casinos to open there, the Kinmen Election Commission said. The referendum was initiated by Tsai Chun-sheng (蔡春生), a member of the Kinmen County Council. Tsai has collected 5,602 valid signatures to back his initiative, surpassing the threshold of 5,178, or 5 percent of the total number of eligible voters, the commission said. The commission is to make a formal announcement tomorrow on the planned referendum. Gambling is not allowed on Taiwan proper, but the legislature passed an amendment to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例) in January 2009 allowing outlying islands to establish tourist casinos if residents agree via a referendum.
CRIME
Victim numbers fall
The number of people affected in criminal cases from January to last month was down slightly from the same period a year earlier, with the 18-23 age group the most likely to be victims, Ministry of the Interior statistics showed. Police handled 75,513 criminal cases in the first five months, down 2.6 percent year-on-year, or 320.7 per 100,000 people affected, down 9.4 people from a year earlier, the data showed. Major crimes accounted for 57.4 percent of the people affected, or 43,330 people, including burglary, robbery, fraud, assault, violent crimes or extortion, statistics showed. Of those crimes, there were 22,342 burglary and robbery victims, 14,247 fraud victims, 5,633 assault victims, 634 victims of violent crimes and 474 victims of extortion. There were 1,175 people affected in drunk driving incidents during the first five months, down 20.7 percent year-on-year.
‘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
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
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
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