SOCIETY
Counting set to begin
The decennial national population and household census is set to begin this month, with 16,000 census workers being deployed to visit more than 1.2 million households, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Tuesday. The data collected on regional population distribution, household and family structures, long-term care and childcare services, education, employment, language use, and housing conditions would aid policymaking and provide the central and local governments with a more accurate understanding of the population, DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said. People would not be asked to disclose personal information, such as bank account data, Chu added. The census is to be conducted from Sunday next week to Nov. 30, with forms available online from today, the DGBAS said.
ECONOMY
APRC vouchers mulled
The government is mulling to include foreign nationals who hold Alien Permanent Resident Certificates (APRC) in its economic stimulus program, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said on Friday. The Cabinet has agreed to open the Triple Stimulus Voucher program to the about 10,000 foreign permanent residents in Taiwan, Wang said, adding that a formal announcement would be made once the plan was finalized. Despite the program only running through the end of the year, Wang said that there would likely still be demand for the vouchers during the Christmas holiday season. She did not elaborate on the reason for the change in policy, but said that it would “stimulate spending.” The program, which was launched on July 15, allows citizens and their foreign spouses with resident certificates to purchase NT$3,000 worth of vouchers for NT$1,000.
EDUCATION
Deal inked with US school
The Ministry of Education signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Pittsburgh to conduct a research project on modern Taiwanese history, a the ministry said in a press release on Wednesday. The agreement was signed by the education division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, and the university’s Asian Studies Center. The three-year project, titled “Centering Taiwan in Global Asia,” is aimed at examining Taiwan’s role in the Asia-Pacific region, taking into account historical, cultural, political, economic and socio-developmental perspectives, the press release said, adding that courses and film screenings would also be held at the university. The ministry is continuing to seek cooperation with other top universities abroad, the press release said, adding that it also expects to renew an agreement with the University of California, Los Angeles to encourage its students to pursue studies on Taiwan-related topics.
CULTURE
Kinmen festival to open
This year’s Kinmen Ocean Art Festival is to take place in Kinmen County’s Lieyu Township (烈嶼) from today to Nov. 29 and feature activities that highlight local culture and tourism. A newly created cycling path would allow tourists to explore a series of land art creations near scenic spots in the township, the Kinmen Department of Tourism said. Land art turns landscapes into artworks, for example by using natural materials such as rocks and twigs, or through earthworks. Other events include concerts and art performances, as well as a fair selling local products, the department said. Activities are held daily from noon to 8pm.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods