Q2 GDP growth misses forecast due to slower exports

Q2 GDP growth misses forecast due to slower exports

2024-07-31

Taiwan’s GDP grew by 5.09% in the second quarter, according to the government’s statistics agency. The rate was slightly below the agency’s earlier forecast. Export performance was also weaker than expected, but consumer spending and business investment added to the GDP. Let’s hear from a government official.

Wang Tsui-hua
DGBAS official
Consumer spending beat the forecast by 0.12 percentage points. Growth in overseas spending was, of course, due to the ongoing wave of overseas travel. As for domestic spending, there was a large increase, primarily due to mobile phone sales. According to the data we have on hand, the increase was close to 10%. Another variable at play was heavy activity in the capital market.

Factoring in Q2 growth rate, officials now expect the economy to grow by 3.91% this year. That’s 0.03 percentage points below an earlier forecast.

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出口擴增不如預期！主計處公布Q2經濟成長率僅5.09%

2024-07-31

主計總處今天公布第二季GDP，受到出口擴張力道不如預期，第2季經濟成長僅達到5.09%，比先前的預測略減0.09個百分點，好在企業投資表現好，抵消部分減幅成功保5。

[[主計總處簡任視察王翠華]]
“消費的部分就是，比預測數增加0.12個百分點。那國外消費的部分，當然就是因為國人出國，熱潮還是延續。國內消費部分的話，比較大的增幅，首先就是在行動電話的部分，行動電話的銷售值，目前我們掌握的資料，大概增幅有將近1成，另外就是因為金融市場交易熱絡”

走入下半年，主計總處認為，如果GDP預測維持不變，今年經濟成長率將下修0.03個百分點，來到3.91%，整體的經濟成長，還是穩定向上。

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Coast Guard Administration Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin and other officials stand on a pier in Kinmen, as a ship departs for China with the bodies of two deceased Chinese fishermen and their seized vessel.

On Feb. 14, a Chinese fishing boat capsized, killing two crew members. One hundred and sixty-six days and 16 rounds of negotiations later, China and Taiwan have finally reached a settlement. At a memorial service on Tuesday, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh bowed in respect to the victims. Coast Guard Administration Director-General Chang Chung-lung apologized for the lack of video evidence in the case.

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For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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AI to contribute NT$3.2 trillion to Taiwan’s economy by 2030: Google

Generative AI has become an indispensable tool in many people’s lives. From summarizing text to drafting emails, the technology can be harnessed in countless ways. According to the U.S. tech giant Google, AI has tremendous potential in Taiwan, with output value set to hit NT$3.2 trillion by 2030.

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Not only is Google developing AI features, ChatGPT creator OpenAI has just dropped SearchGPT. This AI-powered search engine can summarize key points, write short texts, and give direct answers to user queries, all in the blink of an eye. Generative AI is now major driver for the economy. According to Google, its data centers contribute more than US$4.9 billion a year to Taiwan’s GDP. That’s about NT$161 billion. But amid the industry’s rapid growth, professionals are hard to find.

Tina Lin
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The falling birth rate has caused a severe drop in enrollment at schools. Currently we are proactively working with the National Development Council, which recently announced that Taiwan issued its 10,000th Employment Gold Card. We hope to continue attracting more world-class talent to Taiwan.

Leading firms are recruiting high-tech talent in Taiwan and abroad. Google says AI has tremendous growth potential in Taiwan, with output value set to reach NT$3.2 trillion by 2030.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Another brand shows off a different selling point: a folding phone can easily turn into an automatic translator, with each screen giving translations in a separate language. Global sales of folding phones set a six-quarter high this quarter, and all the big brands want in on the act.

The Motorola folding phone has a 4-inch outer screen. Its axle has been tested to withstand 600,000 opens. The Xiaomi international flip phone has made its debut in Taiwan, with an outer screen of 4.1 inches. Its USP is that you can use apps without needing to open the phone. Samsung has already released many generations of folding phones, and is incorporating more apps and functions, the most exciting of which is that two-sided translator. But what about Apple?

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Essential tremor is a disorder that causes involuntary shaking. A team led by National Taiwan University has discovered that the cerebellum calculates the frequency of the shaking.

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We are focused on a disease called essential tremor, which is the most prevalent motor disease in humans. People don’t know how it comes. Specifically when you are shaking your hand, there is a specific frequency. For example, you shake your hand four times a second. It means 4 Hz. We don’t know how the brain calculates it. This study actually solves this problem to understand that first of all, it comes from the cerebellum. The cerebellum calculates this frequency. Second of all, we know how the neurons do this. It usually uses a very elegant way where thousands and thousands of neurons to calculate one thing so it will be very precise.

The team experimented with transcranial alternating current stimulation and found that it improved tremor symptoms in mice. Transcranial stimulation may have the potential to treat patients in the future.

Pan Ming-kai
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The third thing is that because we know how the cerebellum calculates the frequency. We can actally cancel the frequency using a technique called transcranial alternating current stimulation. It initiates a revolution because for the first time, we start to know how our biology, how nerve system do calculations, do math. This is actually not just for essential tremors. It is just a specific case. We actually know how the neurons calculate your movments and motions. So by knowing this, we can cure all the other types of motor disease.

Essential tremor occurs in about 4% of all adults, and about 20% of the elderly population. However, the cause is unknown.

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Because there are so many tremor patients, but each of them can have different causes. In precision medicine, in current therapy, you need thousands of different treatments to cure a single patient because you don’t know which cause it is. If we know where the frequency comes from, you can cancel the frequency to cure all these types of patients with one mechanism. This has already passed the animal testing and validating in humans. We are starting to do human trials.

The team’s research was published in the international journal “Science Translational Medicine” in May.

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A political aide demonstrates how to use the flying rings. A DPP lawmaker cleared out some space in her office to create this mini kids’ playground.

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Before taking office, Ariel Chang was secretary-general of an NGO called “Taiwan Parks and Playgrounds For Children By Children.” She’s made the best possible use of this limited space to welcome families in, and serve voters who come to the office. Alongside the exercise equipment, there are children’s picture books and other toys.

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The pictures in here are different from the usual style, so children quite like flicking through this one. Everyone can play with this, but people think this one is very beautiful. It’s a child’s artwork. Before, a child put them together flat in the shape of a fox. You can let kids create their own art.

This little playground is small but perfectly formed. Chang says there’s more in the kitty to buy extra toys. Meanwhile, at the office of DPP lawmaker Asenay Daliyalrep, the legislator has inherited a bar top from her predecessor Alex Tsai. She’s converted it into a coffee bar: the perfect space to welcome guests into.

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When we have meetings, we need to brew coffee for everyone. See how many kettles we have! I bought these with my own money for everyone to use. And this too, because lots of guests need disinfectant.

Inside the cupboard is a panoply of brewing paraphernalia, as well as various different flavors of coffee. When visitors come over from the Executive Yuan, they can sort out important matters over a relaxing cup.

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We have more types of coffee beans here than you’d get in most cafés. We’re arguing back and forth every day in the Legislative Yuan, and sometimes people get very stressed. So I welcome everyone I know in parliament and in different departments to come here. And you can drink however much you like, always.

Legislators are often leaders in another field before taking office, and when they build up their parliamentary base, their space reflects their life experience. It can improve the quality of lawmaking, but also provide a window into their personality.

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