This Week in Taiwan 1226-0101
December 28: After Nicaragua unilaterally announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Taiwan on December 10, the media reported on December 27 that President Daniel Ortega ordered the confiscation of the Taiwan government's local assets and transferred them to mainland China.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested this and stated that the embassy in Nicaragua has been a lawfully acquired diplomatic property since 1990. It was sold to the Catholic church in Managua, Nicaragua's capital city, for public welfare purposes, similar to how the Twin Oaks estate had been handled in the United States. MOFA will pursue legitimate international legal means to safeguard Taiwan's diplomatic property.
December 28: The declining birthrate has impacted higher education. The Ministry of Education announced the registration rates of new students at colleges and universities in the current academic year, with seven schools failing to meet the benchmark target of 60 percent. Among them, the registration rate of Tung Fang Design University is lower than 20 percent, the lowest in Taiwan. In addition, some 20 universities have registration rates edging between 60 percent and 70 percent, the most for the past three years.
December 29: The renovation of Shoushan Zoo in Kaohsiung cost about NT$500 million (about US$18 million), and the Kaohsiung City Government asked the Taiwan Power Company, CPC Corporation, and China Steel Corporation, to donate NT$80 million (about US$2.8 million), NT$80 million, and NT$60 million (about US$2.1 million), respectively, suspected as a result of coercion. Opposition legislators criticized that state-owned enterprises should not become little treasuries for a few local governments. Kaohsiung city councilors also questioned whether funding through donations serves to evade supervision by the City Council and will become a loophole. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, donations are based upon corporate social responsibility.
December 29: The Taiwanese karate delegation, which consists of 22 members who traveled to Kazakhstan to participate in the Asian Karate championships, returned to Taiwan on December 24, with 13 testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19), seven of which were diagnosed with the Omicron variant. The Sports Administration, Ministry of Education, stated on December 29, that the athletes and coaches who tested positive have only mild to no symptoms.
December 30: Taiwan stocks soared 3,486 points this year, the third largest growth in terms of points in history. The increase of 23.66 percent is also the 14th largest in history and the fifth largest among global financial markets. Taiwan stocks conquered the 18,000-point mark in the last week of 2021 but fell some 29 points on December 30, closing at 18,218, with a transaction value of NT$263.1 billion (about US$9.5 billion).
December 30: The global port congestion has led to soaring freight rates for container ships. Evergreen Marine is expected to make a huge profit of NT$200 billion (about US$7.2 billion), more than eight times last year. The company also issued an unprecedented 40-month year-end bonus. Based on a starting salary of NT$40,000 (about US$1,443) for new employees, the income of everyone effectively broke NT$1 million (US$36,078), worth four years, rewriting the record of Taiwan companies issuing year-end bonuses.
December 31: The rise in housing prices in Taiwan continues. According to the official national and metropolitan residential price index for the third quarter of 2021 published by the Ministry of the Interior, the national residential price index was 114.83, rising for 13 consecutive quarters, with a cumulative increase of approximately 14.74 percent.
December 31: The day saw 41 new imported cases of the coronavirus, setting a new high for cases imported to Taiwan over two years. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), announced that starting from January 4, 2022, travelers to Taiwan must hold a negative COVID-19 test report, with the test administered within two days of boarding.