Taiwan

choi

(1) Number of Births, Marriages Soars in 2011: MOI. CNA, Jan 7, 2012
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/W ... amp;ID=201201070015

Quote:

"A total of 196,627 babies were born last year, which represented a three-year high and a 17.82 percent increase from the previous year, according to Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics.

"Meanwhile, the number of marriages in 2011 hit an eight-year high of 165,327 last year, increasing 19.1 percent from 138,819 in 2010, MOI statistics showed.

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest.
(b) Whew, we have been so worried that there are not enough people in Taiwan to go around.

(2) Marta Gold, A Tea Like No Other; Green cap milk tea a signature drink at authentic Taiwanese shop. Edmonton Journal, Jan 7, 2012.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/like+other/5961554/story.html

My comment:
(a) Please read only paragraph 1.
(b) The "gama diam" is Hoklo (also known as Minnan) for mom-and-pop grocery store which may sometimes double as a hardware store. In Taiwan t never sells tea.

(3) Yen Ling-ju and Sofia Wu, Taiwan-Born Fashion Designer to Launch Collection With Target. CNA, Jan 5, 2012
(Taiwanese American Jason Wu has an expensive high-end collection. Starting Feb 5, he will market a line of ready-to-wear clothes and accessories)

(4) Elizabeth Hsu, Small Town Tries to Build English-Friendly Environment/ CNA, Dec 31, 2012
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/W ... amp;ID=201112310005
(An English village in Yunlin County)

Note:
(a) Yunlin County is among the poorest jurisdictions in Taiwan, mostly agarian until a few years when Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC), a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group, established itself there two decades ago.
http://www.fpcc.com.tw/English/about fpcc/Business Overview.htm
(b) Republishing the report on Jan 3, 2012 Taipei Times used the following title: "Township Finds It Takes a Village to Learn English‎."