“Typhoon” was the most-searched news topic in Taiwan this year, followed by ChatGPT and the World Baseball Classic, Google said on Monday.
The online search engine released its annual list of top searches by category, including news, sports, public figures, travel and more.
“Typhoon” was the top search among news topics, likely due to the greater number of cyclones affecting Taiwan this year compared with recent years, Google said.
Photo: AP
Second was the generative artificial intelligence ChatGPT, followed by the World Baseball Classic in third.
The Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium hosted Pool A games in March, from which Taiwan failed to advance despite the group ending in a 2-2 draw among all five teams.
Baseball at the Asian Games and the Women’s World Cup were also in the top 10, demonstrating a keen interest in sports among Taiwanese, Google said.
Fourth on the list was the NT$6,000 tax rebate distributed to citizens and permanent residents starting in April, while “iPhone 15” rounded out the top five.
International affairs also appeared in the top 10 with “Israel” in sixth and the earthquake in Turkey in 10th.
The only local political issue in the top 10 was “blue-white alliance” in seventh place, referring to ultimately unsuccessful talks between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party to present a joint ticket in next month’s presidential election.
Line Today on Monday also released its top 10 most-popular news items of the year, topped by an article on #MeToo cases in the entertainment industry.
The second-most popular article was on singer Coco Lee Man (李玟) passing away at age 48, followed by sicknesses making a return after the cessation of COVID-19 protocols.
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