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One of the top stories from this past week was the continuing cleanup following Typhoon Soudelor’s pass through Taiwan more than a week ago. The storm caused eight deaths, more than 400 injuries and extensive damage, including more than NT$1.5 billion (nearly US$50 million) in agricultural losses.
As of last Wednesday, Taipower was reporting that blocked roads were stalling efforts to restore power to New Taipei’s Wulai District.
The mountainous area was hit especially hard by Typhoon Soudelor last week. That left roads impassable and cut the district’s water and electricity supplies.
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Also this past week, President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that the government will invest some NT$36 billion (over US$1 billion) in an effort to boost Taiwan’s GDP.
President Ma said that Taiwan will introduce Industry 4.0, a German idea which aims to kick-start productivity. He said the NT$36 billion investment will be directed at the information, financial, export, agricultural, and logistics industries. The government has set growth targets for the year 2024. The goal is to achieve a 60% increase in the per capita GDP in the manufacturing sector, 40% in the service sector and 70% in agriculture.
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And finally, this past week, several groups called for a formal apology from Japan during a vigil held in Taipei on Friday in memory of Taiwanese “comfort women”. “Comfort women” is a euphemism for women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.
The vigil was organized by the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation. The group’s executive director, Kang Shu-hua, said there are only a few former comfort women who are still alive. She said the foundation hopes the Japanese government will issue a formal apology before they pass away.
Kang’s comments were in response to remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier in the day on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. In Abe’s talk, he did not use the word “comfort women”, saying only “we must never forget that there were women behind the battlefields whose honor and dignity were severely injured”.
Kang expressed regret over Abe’s remarks and demanded a formal apology.