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, THU., OCT. 8, 2026No. 4 · 6:00 p.m. Taipei6 p.m. Taipei
TAIEX49,313.44▼0.99%10/8USD/TWD31.88▲0.25%10/8S&P 5007,801.77▼0.22%10/7WTI$88.28▼1.30%10/7黃金$4,140.70▼1.10%10/7
Local · ElectionsPress ✓ 6 outlets · a city-hall concept; no formal planning document yet

Chiang Wan-an proposes moving Songshan Airport for a 300-hectare Taipei AI park; Transport Ministry says it is critical infrastructure and Taoyuan's current plans do not include the move

Seven weeks before the vote, the Taipei mayor has floated an urban plan that would take a decade. The Transport Ministry says the city has not discussed it with the ministry in the past four years, and candidates from the outlying-island counties have objected. This is a concept, not a decision.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), the Kuomintang candidate seeking re-election, announced on Oct. 8 that the city will plan to move Songshan Airport and build a “Taipei AI Park” on about 300 hectares around the site, with housing and green parks. The city's reason is that, with Nvidia choosing the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park, Taipei faces an acute shortage of industrial land. According to TVBS and United Daily News, the city's concept sets the move for around 2033, timed to the opening of Terminal 3 and the third runway at Taoyuan airport, with Songshan's traffic absorbed by Taoyuan's Terminal 3. Chiang said the aim is to give Taipei enough room for industry in the age of AI.

The Transport Ministry replied quickly. It said Songshan Airport is also the base of the National Airborne Service Corps, still runs international, cross-strait and outlying-island routes, and is listed as nationally important critical infrastructure. Any decision that touches the country's medium- and long-term development, it said, must be weighed carefully from a national perspective. United Daily News reported that the ministry also pointed out that the city had not discussed the matter with it in the past four years, and that the current Taoyuan airport plans do not include a Songshan move. Scholars and aviation experts say Terminal 3 may not be able to replace all of Songshan's functions and could lower flight efficiency; if the land is to be re-planned, they say, residents' needs should come first. Candidates for county magistrate in Lienchiang and Penghu also said the rights of outlying-island residents must not be sacrificed.

The topic quickly became a campaign issue. Puma Shen (沈伯洋), the Democratic Progressive Party's Taipei mayoral candidate, jibed at Chiang: “What preparations have you made in 10 years?” In an interview with CTi the same day, Chiang said he felt “the whole DPP is ganging up on me alone,” and called it the fiercest campaign he has been in. DailyDrop asks readers to separate three layers. First, the 300 hectares and the AI park are the city's planning goals. Second, whether the move happens needs the central government's agreement, and the Transport Ministry has not voiced support. Third, 2033 is a time point in the concept, not a schedule approved by any agency. Songshan has been a topic in Taipei mayoral races many times over the past decades, and each time it fell quiet after the vote. Whether this time is different depends on whether the city produces financial and traffic analyses that can be verified.

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By the numbers
About 300 hectaresSize of the Taipei AI park the city envisions around Songshan Airport, including housing and green space (United Daily News, Next Apple, SET News)
2033The city's envisioned completion of the move, timed to Taoyuan's Terminal 3 and third runway (TVBS; not an approved schedule)
4 yearsThe ministry says the city has not discussed the matter with it in the past four years (United Daily News)
Economy · MarketsSource ✓ TWSE statistics · Press ✓ 6 outlets

Taiwan stocks reverse before the holiday, plunging 492.93 points to 49,313; foreign investors net sell NT$75.8 billion as Japan and Korea fall too

On the last trading day before the Double Ten holiday, Taiwan shares opened lower and kept sliding on Oct. 8. At one point the market dropped more than 600 points, to an intraday low of 49,189.77. It closed down 492.93 points (0.99%) at 49,313.44 on turnover of NT$869.697 billion, further from the 50,000 mark. The three major institutional investors together net sold NT$89.895 billion. Foreign and Chinese-capital investors net sold NT$75.852 billion, investment trusts net bought NT$4.688 billion, and proprietary dealers net sold NT$18.731 billion. Foreign investors have now been net sellers for three straight days, about NT$95.5 billion in all. TSMC closed at NT$2,550, down 1.35%, while Formosa Plastics Group shares bucked the trend. For the week, the TAIEX is still up 837.7 points, and the weekly chart posted a fourth straight gain. The cause lies in the global bond market. U.S. 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields both hit 24-year highs the night before, and the Fed's meeting minutes showed most officials expect another rate hike before year-end. The Nikkei fell 993.6 points, Korean stocks lost more than 2%, and the NT dollar slipped 8 cents to 31.875 per U.S. dollar as foreign money left.

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Word of the day
YieldFINANCE

The annualized return you earn by holding a bond to maturity. When a bond's price falls, its yield rises. Government bond yields are the benchmark for borrowing costs, so when they rise, mortgages, business loans and stock valuations all come under pressure.

Fiscal · LivelihoodPress ✓ 5 outlets · the timetable is a plan and depends on the general budget's third reading

Cabinet sets timetable for NT$10,000 cash handout: if the general budget clears third reading by Jan. 5, first payments could arrive Jan. 26; KMT caucus still wants NT$20,000

At its Oct. 8 meeting the Executive Yuan heard a Ministry of Finance report outlining the plan for a universal NT$10,000 cash handout in 2027. According to United Daily News, Liberty Finance, China Times and PTS, the precondition is that the Legislative Yuan passes the 2027 central government general budget on third reading by Jan. 5 next year, and that the president promulgates it by Jan. 20. In that case pre-registration could open as early as Jan. 20, and the first payments would arrive on Jan. 26 (PTS wrote “as early as Jan. 25,” a day off from the other papers). Cash collection at ATMs is expected to open Feb. 15 and at post offices Feb. 22. The general public can collect until Aug. 31, 2027, and babies born by the end of next year can collect until Jan. 31, 2028. The Ministry of Finance estimates about 23.53 million people will benefit. There are five channels in all: registration with deposit, ATM, post office, direct deposit, and roster-based payment. Eligibility follows the 2023 and 2025 rounds.

The Ministry also warned that if the general budget misses a third reading in early January, payments cannot arrive before Lunar New Year. On Oct. 8 the KMT caucus's secretary-general, Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄), repeated that the caucus will not drop its push for NT$20,000. The DPP called on opposition parties to review the general budget quickly. Two things are at stake in this timetable: the amount (NT$10,000 or NT$20,000) and the timing (before or after the Lunar New Year). Neither is settled.

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Labor · YunlinPress ✓ 6 outlets · outlets count the days of the strike differently

AGC strike ends: after seven hours of marathon talks, base pay rises NT$1,200 a month for two years

The strike called by the union at AGC, the Japanese-owned company in Yunlin, ended after talks that began on the afternoon of Oct. 7 with help from the Ministry of Labor and the Yunlin County government. The talks ran about seven hours, and a deal was struck late at night. According to United Daily News, China Times, ETtoday, CNA and PTS, the agreement raises base pay across the board by NT$1,200 a month for two straight years, 2027 and 2028. Raises for 2029 and 2030 will be negotiated further with the union. The union will not strike again over this pay dispute, and the company may not treat workers unfavorably for joining the strike. After the union's members' assembly ratified the deal, the strike ended at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 8. Outlets count the length of the strike differently, some as three days and some as four. The union had originally demanded a 5% across-the-board raise every year, saying the company had not given a general raise in 25 years. The company said its minimum pay is NT$35,000. The Ministry of Labor welcomed the outcome. The union said that on the 19th it will join the Taiwan Workers' Struggle General Union (台灣工人鬥陣總工會) in a rally on Ketagalan Boulevard, demanding a higher employer contribution rate under the new labor pension system.

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World · Interest ratesPress ✓ 5 outlets · the minutes are a public Fed document

Fed minutes: most officials expect another rate hike before year-end; U.S. 10-year and 30-year yields hit 24-year highs and Wall Street closes lower across the board

The Federal Reserve released minutes of its Sept. 15-16 meeting on Oct. 7 U.S. Eastern time (early on Oct. 8 in Taiwan). They show that most participants expect one more rate hike before the end of this year, though no timing was given. CNA and Economic Daily News read this to mean the Fed will probably hold in October and is more likely to raise in December. The same day, U.S. 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields both rose to their highest in 24 years. The Dow fell 341.41 points to 51,179.87, and the S&P 500 fell 0.22% to 7,801.77, so all four major indexes closed lower. Oil is still around $100 a barrel, with Brent above $100, and worries about inflation and borrowing costs weighed on global markets. In Taiwan time on Oct. 8, the Nikkei 225 fell 993.6 points to 69,042.11, Korea's KOSPI lost more than 2%, and Taiwan shares dropped in step.

For Taiwan readers, what these numbers mean in practice is the direction of mortgage and business-loan rates. Central bank board member Huang Nan-chou (黃男州) said on Oct. 8 that with funds tight and rates rising, a rate rise of half a notch (0.125 percentage point) in December is possible (CNA). But the central bank will not decide until its next board meeting in December, so every talk of a hike is an expectation, not a decision.

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In brief
  • Canadian poet Anne Carson wins the Nobel Prize in Literature, the 19th woman to win itPTS
  • New Taipei councilor Huang Yung-chang (黃永昌) accused of vote-buying with NT$100 Guanmiao noodles; prosecutors seek detentionPTS
  • Zhao Weizhi (趙偉志), the main suspect in the 2023 Jinhuye (金虎爺) explosion, sentenced to 28 years but mistakenly releasedPTS
  • Russian mass air attack on Ukraine kills 28; Ukraine's foreign ministry accuses Putin of war crimesPTS
  • Samsung Electronics expects Q3 operating profit up more than 780% year on year on the AI boomCNA
  • China confirms it has nominated Song Li (宋莉) for WHO Director-GeneralCNA
  • China's men's football team falls to 96th in the world rankings, its lowest in 10 yearsCNA
  • 24.95% of the budget for the weekday domestic-travel lodging subsidy has been usedCNA
Seven minutes every evening, one front page — see About

Unverified — what we could not confirm

“Songshan Airport's move is already decided.” This is Chiang Wan-an's planning concept. The Transport Ministry says Songshan is critical infrastructure, the current Taoyuan airport plans do not include a move, and no schedule has been approved.
“The U.S. and Israel will soon resume major air strikes on Iran.” Only United Daily News cites the rumor. We found no second independent source and no official statement. Trump said recently that the biggest problem in the war is that nobody knows who is leading Iran now.
“The NT$10,000 handout will definitely arrive before Lunar New Year.” The Ministry of Finance says that depends on the general budget passing third reading by Jan. 5 and being promulgated by Jan. 20. If that is missed, payments could come only after the holiday.
Glossary · dotted words — economics, law, security and science terms explained in the context of the story. The list grows every day.
INSIDEChiang Wan-an proposes moving Songshan Airport for a 300-hectare Taipei AI park; Transport Ministry says it is critical infrastructure and Taoyuan's current plans do not include the moveLocal · ElectionsTaiwan stocks reverse before the holiday, plunging 492.93 points to 49,313; foreign investors net sell NT$75.8 billion as Japan and Korea fall tooEconomy · MarketsCabinet sets timetable for NT$10,000 cash handout: if the general budget clears third reading by Jan. 5, first payments could arrive Jan. 26; KMT caucus still wants NT$20,000Fiscal · LivelihoodAGC strike ends: after seven hours of marathon talks, base pay rises NT$1,200 a month for two yearsLabor · YunlinFed minutes: most officials expect another rate hike before year-end; U.S. 10-year and 30-year yields hit 24-year highs and Wall Street closes lower across the boardWorld · Interest rates