Business and Economy

Missing Boeing 737 with 132 on board confirmed crashed in China

composite image showing forest fire and piece of wreckage
Aviation Regional 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A China Eastern Airlines passenger plane that went missing from radar earlier today has been confirmed to have crashed in a mountainous area of Guangxi Province, China, according to Chinese state media. CCTV reported that a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 flight number MU5735 carrying 123 passengers and 9 crew took off from Kunming at 1:15 pm bound for Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. At around 2:50 pm the plane disappeared from radar screens over Wuzhou, Guangxi Province. At 4:30 pm, the

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Large areas of southern Taiwan still in the dark this evening but power supply sufficient for tomorrow says Taipower

a police officer directs traffic during power outage
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

Power was restored to most affected areas following nationwide blackouts caused by an accident at Xingda Power Plant in Kaohsiung City this morning, however, many areas of southern Taiwan were plunged into darkness again as the sun went down on solar power arrays this evening, March 3. As of 8:30 pm this evening power outages were still being reported over much of Kaohsiung City’s central business district, and areas of Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, and Yunlin counties. An estimated 700,000 households

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Kaohsiung City poised to become important base in global electric bus market

Model T electric bus
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chi-mai said that he looks forward to jointly building the world’s most important electric bus base during a handover ceremony that saw the city taking delivery of the first electric bus produced by Foxconn joint venture Foxtron today, March 3. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (TSE: 2354, Foxconn Technology Group) Chairman Liu Young-way said that the delivery was the most important milestone since the company ventured into the electric vehicle industry. Liu noted that 65% of

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Nationwide power outages after accident at major power station

fire and smoke at Xingda Power plant
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

More than one third of households around Taiwan were without power after what the Ministry of Economic Affairs described as “a bang, but not an explosion” at a major power plant in Kaohsiung City at 9:07 am this morning, Thursday, March 3. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua made a public apology for the situation and said that the power outages were caused by an accident at the main switch station of Xingda Power Plant in Kaohsiung City. Wang said

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Taiwan’s electric motorcycle brand Gogoro reports recent sales surge

Gogoro electric scooters
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Electric scooter brand Gogoro announced March 1 that the number of newly licensed electric scooters in Taiwan in the first two months of 2022 reached 7,308 units, more than double the same period last year, with a growth rate of 132.2%.  Compared with the booming sales performance of electric motor scooters, the sales of traditional fuel scooters continued to decline. The number of new licenses of traditional fuel scooters in January and February 2022 declined by 10.4% compared with the

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Ministry of Labor says no menstrual leave for transgender women

ministry of labor sign
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor said that transgender women are not entitled to menstrual leave, because transgender women don’t have a uterus, and therefore do not menstruate. Under Taiwan’s Gender Equality in Employment law, women are entitled to take one day off per month, with a maximum three per year not counting towards days off for sick leave. The employee is not required to provide supporting documents, and the employer cannot refuse or allow the absence to affect such aspects as

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Female appointed Taipei Main Station Station Master for first time in history

Taipei Main Station stationmaster handover ceremony
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

For the first time in its 135-year history, a female has been appointed as station master at Taipei Main Station, and began duties after a handover ceremony today, February 7. During the ceremony to appoint the 25th station master of Taiwan Railway Administration’s largest train station, outgoing station master Tu Wei-ting (涂維庭) handed responsibility for the management of Taiwan’s largest railway station over to 43-year-old Hu Yongzhi (胡詠芝). Hu holds a master’s degree in transportation and logistics management from National

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The war on viruses: What’s that got to do with the price of eggs?

composite image showing laying hens and people queuing for eggs
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , ,

As Taiwan goes into the Lunar New Year holidays, people are facing empty egg shelves in some supermarkets, long queues at stores with supplies, and rising prices that have been capped as an emergency measure by the Council of Agriculture. Just as egg prices rise while supply falls, hundreds of thousands of chickens are being culled due to “bird flu.” But this seems to be the elephant in the room. Taiwan’s peak government agricultural authority, the Council of Agriculture, doesn’t

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China Airlines cargo plane aborts flight, makes precautionary emergency landing after engine problem

flight map
Aviation 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A China Airlines 747 cargo plane circled and dumped fuel before returning to Taoyuan International Airport after reporting an engine problem shortly after take-off today, January 16. China Airlines cargo flight CI-5240 took off from Taoyuan Airport at 11:45 am bound for Anchorage, Alaska. According to a United Daily News report, airport ground crew reported hearing an explosion and seeing flames shoot from the outside right engine of the four-engine plane during take-off. A pilot in another plane waiting for

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