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One of the top stories from this past week was that the vice presidential candidate from the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), Wang Ju-hsuan apologized on Tuesday for the controversy surrounding her purchases of military dependent housing. She also donated the NT$13.8 million (nearly US$419,000) she earned from those real estate investments to show her sincerity.
There have been rumors that exaggerated the number of units and amount of money she made from the investments. Wang said she had to hold a press conference to clarify the situation and apologize for the anxiety and confusion it has caused her supporters.
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Also this past week, the Cabinet has expressed its support for an appeal in the case of tycoon Wei Ying-chung. That was the word from Cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun on Friday.
Wei was indicted last October after his company, Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co., was found to have sold lard mixed with oil intended for use as animal feed. The use of animal-grade feed in products meant for human consumption shook public confidence in food safety.
The Taiwan Changhua District Court handed down a not guilty verdict in November. Prosecutors appealed the verdict on Thursday.
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And finally, this past week, Taiwan was ranked number one in the 2015 Global Open Data Index.
The index is a project of the Open Knowledge Foundation. According to the Open Knowledge Foundation, “open data and content can be freely used, modified, and shared by anyone for any purpose.” This year’s index compared the state of open data in 122 countries and territories.
Taiwan was ranked 36th in 2013, the first year the index was published. In 2014, Taiwan came in 11th place.