At this morning’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting Session 1, a broadcast by the APEC International Media Center featured the name “Taiwan” and the Taiwanese flag to introduce Taiwan’s envoy Lin Hsin-i (林信義).
Lin was introduced by the emcee at this morning’s opening session as representing “Chinese Taipei” as he shook hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
The APEC leaders’ summit is to be held today and tomorrow, hosted by South Korea in Gyeongju at the Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center.
Photo courtesy of the APEC Taiwan media group
As Taiwania Capital chairman and former minister of economic affairs, Lin was appointed as Taiwan’s APEC envoy.
Lin entered at 9:30am this morning, following International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvira.
The on-screen information box featured not only the name Taiwan and the flag, but Taiwan’s population and GDP, and called Taiwan a “major economic partner” and “chip sector competitor.”
This morning’s event was streamed by cable TV channel KTV National Broadcasting, which also used the Taiwanese flag and used the Korean word for “Taiwan.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was also in attendance at this morning’s event.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
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
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury