Headline News
China attempts to meddle in Taiwan elections
China tries to influence the Nov. 24 local elections in Taiwan by tactics such as campaign donations to candidates it favors and inviting influential community leaders to tour China in return for their backing of China’s favored candidates.
Taiwan’s intelligence chief Leu Wen-jong said in a legislative committee session that the Investigation Bureau has received 33 pieces of intelligence that point to mentioned efforts by China. The money comes from the Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office, Leu was quoted. It is against Taiwan’s law for candidates to accept campaign donations from China.
Taiwan to battle fake news
Taiwan Media Watch and the Association for Quality Journalism, two non-profit organizations, have jointly set up the Taiwan Fact Check Center to battle fake news.
The center hopes to curb the negative impact of false information and enhance the information literacy of the public to better the democratic development of Taiwan through the principles of professionalism, transparency and impartiality.
Citizens who register on the website can submit reports of fake news and include evidence that refutes such spurious stories.
The Netherlands introduces circular building at Flora Expo
A circular building will serve as the Holland Pavilion at the World Flora Expo in November in Taichung, while simultaneously showcasing the circular economy for which the Dutch government is a major advocate.
Dutch Representative to Taiwan, Guy Wittich, said earlier to be very excited about this project because it is the first circular-built building in Taiwan and expressed hopes that the construction will highlight Dutch efforts to develop a circular economy by 2050.
The Holland Pavilion features many environmentally-friendly designs, including energy-conserving pneumatic vacuum elevators and bolting steel structures that require no welding.
The World Flora Expo runs from Nov. 3 to April 24, 2019 in central Taiwan.
Economy
Taipei teams up with Tesla
Taipei has teamed up with electric car maker Tesla to build a “new creative energy base” in Neihu District in Taipei. The 1.46-hectare base, a former bus repair depot, was provided by the city government to foster new startups. The base offers enough space for eight more startups and will house new companies focusing on new energy, new high-tech and energy-saving technologies.
A new startup already based there, has begun working with Tesla on exploring electricity charging technology and equipment.
In the future, energy-related technologies and services explored by companies in the base will be first provided to Tesla.
Facebook to expand operations in Taiwan
Under its “Made by Taiwan” program, Facebook will pour more resources into Taiwan in a bid to make the country’s industries more digitally competitive, said Facebook Vice President Dan Nearly. The expansion will help local businesses carve out a bigger space in the global market and cultivate digi-tech talent. Facebook recognizes the importance of the Taiwanese market in the region and the opportunities it presents and expanding Facebook’s operations is in line with the company’s core mission of providing connectivity for communities, said Neary.
Taiwanese hairdresser wins 2018 AHS Visionary Award
Taiwanese hairdresser Tang Wei won the Avant-garde category of the 2018 Visionary Award at the Alternative Hair Show (AHS) in London on Oct. 14. He is the first Taiwanese to receive the award.
Tang's hairstyle design was based on the secret of life, the delicate change of color representing the growth of cells. His winning design echoes the theme “Mystique” of this year’s renowned international hairdressing competition event held in the UK.
