Taiwan Today

Taiwan claimed two bronze medals and an honorable mention at the International Sustainable World Energy Engineering Environment Project Olympiad, which wrapped up May 4 in Houston. Ting Ling-wen, a Taipei First Girls’ High School student, clinched bronze for her project on the synergistic effects of external factors affecting the reprogramming of insulin-producing cells. Chen Mei-lin and Mo Szu-yu, both of National Taichung Girls’ Senior High School in central Taiwan, won a bronze and honorable mention for their development of a microbial fuel cell based on iron chlorophyll.

The ROC government and people of Taiwan congratulate Juan Carlos Varela on winning the presidential election in Panama, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs May 5. Varela, who currently serves as the Latin American nation’s vice president, claimed almost 40 percent of the vote. Chou Lin, ROC ambassador to Panama, also conveyed the best wishes of President Ma Ying-jeou to Varela and his running mate Isabel Saint Malo.

Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves reached US$421.5 billion at the end of April, up by nearly US$2.3 billion from the month before, the ROC Central Bank said May 5. The market value of foreign investors’ holdings of local stocks, bonds and deposits stood at US$268.1 billion, or 64 percent of total foreign currency reserves. The central bank attributed the increase in forex holdings to the depreciation of the U.S. dollar and high returns from asset management. (YHC-JSM)

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