The Central News Agency (CNA) has selected Taiwan’s top 10 biggest news stories of 2021, and topping the list was Taiwanese athletes bagging the nation’s most medals ever at the Olympics this past summer.
The 2021 list was compiled by CNA news editors between Jan. 1 and Nov. 24.
- At the Tokyo Olympics, Taiwanese athletes put in their best ever showing at an Olympic Games by winning two gold, four silver and six bronze medals, finishing in 34th place based on number of gold medals won.
- The No. 408 Taroko Express on April 2 hit a crane truck that had fallen from a construction site onto the tracks as the train approached Qingshui Tunnel in Hualien County, causing it to careen into the tunnel wall. The deadly crash killed 49 people and injured more than 200 others.
- Taiwan declared a nationwide Level 3 COVID-19 alert on May 19 after recording over 100 locally-transmitted cases for several consecutive days. The alert level was subsequently downgraded to Level 2 on July 27.
- A fire broke out on Oct. 14 in a residential building in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng District, killing 46 people and injuring 43 others. It was the second deadliest ever building fire in Taiwan after a blaze at Weierkang Club in Taichung that killed 64 people in February 1995.
- The global chip shortage within the automotive sector this year has prompted the United States, Japan and Germany to seek help from Taiwan, a major player in the global semiconductor industry. On June 2, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it had started work on a 5nm semiconductor factory in Arizona, and subsequently announced that it would spend up to US$2.12 billion in a wafer fab equity investment in Japan to establish a TSMC-majority-owned subsidiary providing foundry services.
- The removal of Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) as a lawmaker and Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇) as a Taoyuan City Councilor in two separate recall elections. Wang was ousted from office in January this year, while Chen became the first legislator in Taiwan to lose a recall election on Oct. 23.
- The Executive Yuan approved on Oct. 28 a 4-percent pay raise for public sector workers that will be implemented next year. If the budget amendment clears the legislative floor, it will be the highest pay increase for public sector employees in 25 years, since a 5-percent raise in 1996.
- Taiwan’s government unveiled several COVID-19 relief measures this year, including subsidies of NT$10,000 to NT$30,000 for eligible individuals and vouchers worth NT$5,000 to stimulate the domestic economy which has been hit hard by the pandemic.
- Four national referendums supported by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) were proposed this year. The Central Election Commission (CEC) on July 2 pushed back the referendum election to Dec. 18 from the initially scheduled Aug. 28 due to the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan. On Dec. 18, all four referendum questions failed to pass on low turnout. The four initiatives include the issues of nuclear power, pork imports, conservation of algal reefs, and whether future referendums should be held concurrently with national elections.
- The Ministry of Labor’s Minimum Wage Review Committee decided on Oct. 8 to raise Taiwan’s minimum monthly and hourly wage by 5 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2022. The 5 percent increase will raise the minimum monthly wage from NT$24,000 (US$857) at present to NT$25,250 and the minimum hourly wage from NT$160 to NT$168. About 1.94 million people are expected to benefit from the minimum wage hike.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel