Taiwan tops global expat ranking
In a yearly study conducted by expat service provider InterNations on expatriate quality of life, Taiwan came in on top in the ranking of best places to live and work. The study surveyed more than 14,000 expats living in 67 countries on their overall happiness living and working abroad. This year marks the first time Taiwan made the list and it immediately claimed the top spot, followed by Malta and Ecuador at second and third place, respectively, while Kuwait, Greece, and Nigeria took the bottom three places. The survey noted that expats living in Taiwan were particularly impressed with the local quality of life and reasonable prices as well as low healthcare costs. Additionally, 34% of respondents in Taiwan said they were completely satisfied with their job, more than double the global average of 16%. Taiwan completely outranked its East Asian neighbors, with South Korea placing 27th and Japan 29th. Hong Kong fell to 44th place and China to 48th.
Hsu wins olympic gold medal for Taiwan
Weightlifter Hsu Shu-Ching won Taiwan’s only gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when she lifted a total of 212 kilograms in the women’s 53kg group. The 25-year-old managed to place first after Li Yajun of China, a gold medal favorite, failed in all three attempts to complete the clean and jerk, despite setting a new Olympic record in the snatch. The gold medal is Hsu’s first, after winning a Silver Medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
In all, the Taiwan athletes came home with three medals. Kuo Hsing-chun won a bronze medal in a weightlifting category, and the women’s archery team of Lin Shih-chia, Tan Ya-ting, and Le Chien-ying took another bronze. Hsu’s gold medal was Taiwan’s first since the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In the under 63kg weightlifting category, Taiwan’s medal favorite Lin Tzu-chi was banned after failing a doping test.
3 Soldiers dead in tank mishap
A Taiwanese army CM-11 tank slipped off a bridge in Pingtung County on August 16 after returning from a live-fire drill staged in preparation for the annual Han Kuang military exercises the following week. The tank, carrying five soldiers, had been traveling through heavy rain when the accident occurred. The driver managed to escape with injuries, but the other four where trapped inside a separate chamber when the tank landed upside down, making it impossible for them to get out. One of the trapped soldiers was rescued and remains in a coma while his three companions were pronounced dead at a local hospital. The exact cause of the accident remains unclear and it is being investigated by a committee led by Chief of the General Staff General Yen De-fa.
Pokemon GO craze reaches Taiwan
Following its launch in Taiwan on August 6, Nintendo’s hit app Pokémon Go has sent thousands of Taiwanese outside to catch virtual monsters in streets, homes, and parks. As some monsters are rarer than others and only appear in specific places at specific times, huge crowds can be found chasing after them, resulting in public disturbances in some areas. Hundreds of Pokémon Go fans in Taiwan have been fined as they were playing the game while driving, and some institutions have started to forbid the game altogether, including Taipei’s National Palace Museum as well as some train stations.
