SOCIETY
Youth reliant on phones
Taiwanese adolescents rely heavily on their mobile phones for entertainment and interpersonal interactions, and the older they get, the more important their smartphones become to them, a survey released on Wednesday by the non-profit King Car Cultural and Educational Foundation showed. In the poll of Taiwanese aged 10 to 17, 76 percent said they would feel inconvenienced without a mobile phone to contact other people, and 64.1 percent said they would feel bored without one. In terms of phone usage, 16.1 percent of respondents use their phones more than five hours a day; 22.9 percent average three to five hours; 39.5 percent one to three hours; and 21.5 percent one hour a day. Most of the respondents used their phones to watch videos, interact on social media and play online games, said the survey, which was conducted in March with 3,017 valid samples.
SOCIETY
Student’s body found
The body of a Taiwanese student who went missing last week after going for swim in a river in Germany has been found, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday. The body of the exchange student, surnamed Tsai (蔡), was found on Tuesday morning in the Weser River near Minden, a ministry statement said. Tsai’s family has confirmed that the body is that of their 18-year-old son, who had been missing since Friday last week. The ministry expressed its condolences to the family and thanked German rescue teams for their assistance in the search. According to local media reports, Tsai was part of a 60-member group that was camping on the banks of Weser River. He was swept away while swimming in the river.
SOCIETY
New scratch lotto coming
A new scratch ticket game is to be introduced on Monday, offering 200 top prizes of NT$100,000, Taiwan Lottery Corp said on Thursday. The Win-Win Lottery scratch tickets are to be sold at NT$100 each, and players will have a chance to win cash prizes of NT$100,000, NT$1,000, NT$200 and NT$100, Taiwan Lottery general manager Tsai Kuo-chi (蔡國基) said. The chances of winning would be 29.93 percent, based on two sets of 12 hidden numbers on the ticket, each in a range from 1 to 24, he said. The NT$100,000 prize would go to ticket holders who match none or all 12 winning numbers, Tsai said. Players who match one or 11 numbers would win NT$1,000, while those who match two or 10 would win NT$200, and those who match three or nine numbers would get NT$100, he said. The scratch game is part of the nation’s Public Welfare Lottery, which saw a 7 percent year-on-year increase in sales in the first five months of the year, Tsai said.
FOOD
Mussel season arrives
It is harvest time for mussels cultivated in waters off the coasts of Matsu, with the local delicacy to be available until late September, aquaculturists said. Mussel cultivation is a key aquaculture industry on the outlying island, with consumers on Taiwan proper the major customers, to whom farmers and retailers ship the fresh produce via home delivery services, while tourists can savor the limited seasonal delicacy at local restaurants. The harvest season normally runs from June to September, but began a week late this year, local businesses said. Mussels are known for their high nutritional value and are said to increase sperm count and improve sperm motility, a study by National Taiwan Ocean University’s food science department said.
‘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
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
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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