SOCIETY
Student numbers to fall
The nation’s number of elementary-school pupils is to drop by an average of 20,000 per year until 2037 as the country continues to grapple with a declining birthrate, a report by the Ministry of Education showed. The report, released last week, said that only 867,000 students would be enrolled in the nation’s elementary schools in 2037, a 40.5 percent decline from 2011. The number of junior-high school students is expected to fall by 8,800 per year over the next 15 years to 446,000 in 2037, it said, adding that the number of senior-high school students would drop by about 10,400 per year to 463,000 in 2037. The downward trend in the nation’s student population might be less significant in higher education, because there are more diverse student sources, the ministry said. Universities might see their freshmen enrollment numbers fall 2,900 annually to 177,000 in 2037, the report said.
MARITIME
Chinese vessel seized
A Chinese fishing vessel and its crew were detained on Saturday after illegally entering waters near the Taiwan-administered Penghu Islands, the Coast Guard Administration said. The Minhuiyu 04236 gillnetter fishing vessel was seized after being detected 12 nautical miles (22.2km) northeast of Penghu’s Mudou Island (目斗嶼), the coast guard’s 13th Patrol Area Office said in a statement. The fishing boat and its five crew members, all Chinese nationals, were taken into custody, while 30kg of fish found on board were tossed into the sea. The case is to be handled in accordance with the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the agency said.
CRIME
More suspects named
Two more Thai nationals have been listed as suspects in the alleged murder of a Thai couple whose bodies were found in the trunk of a car in Taoyuan on June 10, local prosecutors said yesterday. The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office said it has passed information about the two suspects, who left Taiwan on June 11, to its counterpart in Thailand for a joint investigation. Thai police on Friday arrested another suspect who had fled to Thailand — a Thai national named Wang Ta-hsien (王大賢) — after he surrendered himself to the authorities there. Wang traveled to Thailand on June 9, Taiwanese officials said. Police said that both the victims and Wang were members of Thailand’s ethnic Chinese community and knew each other before coming to Taiwan.
ARCHEOLOGY
Artifact found in Yilan
An artifact believed to be a sacred fish-shaped metal ornament unique to the Kavalan people has been found at an excavation site at National Ilan University (NIU), the Yilan Cultural Affairs Bureau said on Saturday. The discovery was made as workers excavated a site during the construction of NIU’s College of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science’s new facilities, the bureau said. The artifact would be examined to determine its archeological value and whether it is an authentic fish-shaped ornament, it said. According to the National Cultural Heritage Database Management System, fish-shaped ornaments were an invaluable item for the wealthy and are found only in tombs. The ornaments, made from thin metal threads, were cherished by the Kavalan, and were worn on the chest or forehead, the bureau said.
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
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
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
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