Taiwan has risen to 26th in a global start-up ecosystem rankings report, up four notches from last year, the Ministry of Science and Technology said yesterday.
The rankings were complied by StartupBlink, an Israel-based global start-up ecosystem map and research center, in conjunction with the ministry’s Taiwan Tech Arena, listing about 1,000 cities and 100 countries.
In The Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report 2021, Taiwan ranked 26th globally, although it remained seventh in the Asia-Pacific region.
Taiwan was 14th on the “Hardware & IoT” subindex and 15th on the “Health Technology” subindex, the report said.
Among the 1,000 cities in the report, Taipei was listed 41st, up one notch from last year, while five other Taiwanese cities — Hsinchu, Taoyuan, Tainan, Taichung and Kaohsiung — made the rankings for the first time.
The nation’s performance in the start-up ecosystem has gained international recognition through the efforts of government agencies and the private sector, which has helped consolidate its status in deep tech and other emerging industries, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan rose three places from last year to 17th in The COVID-19 Innovation Report compiled by the UNAIDS Health Innovation Exchange and StartupBlink, placing it among the 32 best-performing countries, the ministry said.
The greater Taipei area advanced on the list of 80 cities in the innovation rankings from 10th last year to ninth, it said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central