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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
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