FOOD SAFETY
FDA to investigate candy
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has ordered the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate “wax candy” products from China that have appeared for sale on Taiwanese shopping sites, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said on Tuesday. The sellers might have contravened the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) as well as the Regulations Governing Trade Between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區貿易許可辦法) if they did not obtain a permit to import the products, Lin said. Information on the e-commerce sites shows that the candies have an outer layer of wax encasing jam or syrup, she said. However, the contents are likely to be processed foods, made with artificial flavors and coloring, she said, adding that the candies raise food safety concerns. People should exercise caution before buying the products because it is uncertain whether they contain illegal additives, she said. People can report suspicious products to their local health bureaus, she added.
Screen grab from Taobao
TRAVEL
Tigerair adds Miyazaki route
Tigerair Taiwan is adding a new route between Taoyuan and Miyazaki, Japan, starting from Nov. 26, the budget carrier said yesterday. The city of about 400,000 on the southern island of Kyushu would be the airline’s 20th destination in Japan, as Tigerair prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its first flight. Miyazaki is a historic city “full of myth,” with shrines including Miyazaki Shrine, Amanoiwato Shrine and Takachiho Shrine, the carrier said. The city also has attractions such as Takachiho Gorge and Sun Messe Nichinan, a park renowned for its seven Moai statues restored with permission from Easter Island, the Taoyuan-based airline said. The carrier would initially offer one weekly round-trip flight for the new route, departing from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:30am on Tuesdays, with return flight leaving Miyazaki at 10:10am the same day. To celebrate the new route, the airline said it would also sell one-way tickets from 10am on Thursday to 11:59pm on Friday. Tigerair reported its highest-ever consolidated sales of NT$1.53 billion (US$16.64 million) for last month, up NT$292 million from a year earlier. The number of flights it offered last month rose 20 percent amid a global tourism boom in the post-COVID-19-pandemic era, while the number of flights increased 40 percent in the first eight months of this year compared with the previous year.
TRANSPORTATION
EV charging stations opened
The Freeway Bureau on Tuesday last week announced the completion of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) at all freeway service areas. That includes 23 fast-charging stations, 85 charging piles and 154 EV parking spaces in 15 service areas and the Eastern Caotun Rest Area. The nationwide charging network was established to meet demand for charging infrastructure amid the rapid growth of EVs, the bureau said in a news release. The facilities were completed in three phases over several years. The 23 fast-charging stations, with a total capacity of more than 27 megawatts, are along highways Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 6, covering the northern, central, southern and eastern parts of Taiwan proper, it said. All the stations are equipped with fast-charging piles with a capacity of 200 kilowatts (kW) or more, with 70 percent offering 350kW to 360kW, enabling quick charging during short rest stops. Drivers can check real-time charging pile availability on the bureau’s Freeway 1968 app.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
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
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
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
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