Month: December 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​Hongkong Post announced today (December 15) that Lunar New Year special stamps and associated philatelic products on the theme of “Year of the Horse” will be released for sale on January 5, 2026 (Monday). The “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals – Snake/Horse”, as well as the “Year of the Horse” joint souvenir packs jointly presented by China Post, Hongkong Post and Macao Post and Telecommunications, will also be issued on the same day.

To welcome the Year of the Horse, Hongkong Post will release the third issue of the fifth Lunar New Year special stamp series. The set of four stamps, two stamp sheetlets and associated philatelic products feature horses in various poses. Both the $10 stamp sheetlet and the $50 laser-cut paper art stamp sheetlet showcase a horse adorned with festive floral motifs. The motif on the $50 stamp sheetlet is laser-cut with exquisite technique to create a delicate silhouette of a horse.

For the “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals – Snake/Horse”, this is the second issue in the third Lunar New Year Gold and Silver stamp issue series. This stamp sheetlet is embedded with two zodiac stamps, namely the “Year of the Snake” stamp and “Year of the Horse” stamp, each in a denomination of $50. The snake and the horse on the stamps are adorned with silver and 22-carat gold hot foil stamping respectively, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

In addition, China Post, Hongkong Post and Macao Post and Telecommunications will jointly present the “Year of the Horse” joint souvenir packs, which contain the souvenir sheet jointly issued by the three postal administrations, demonstrating that the three places share the same roots and cultural lineage.

     Official first day covers for “Year of the Horse” and official Lunar New Year animals souvenir covers for the “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals – Snake/Horse” will be on sale at all post offices and on Hongkong Post’s online shopping platform ShopThruPost (shopthrupost.hongkongpost.hk) from tomorrow (December 16). Prestige version of the aforesaid covers and the newly designed 2026 Souvenir Cover will also be available at all philatelic offices and ShopThruPost on the same day.

     This set of special stamps and associated philatelic products will be on sale at all post offices and ShopThruPost from January 5, 2026, while serviced first day covers/Lunar New Year animals souvenir covers affixed with the special stamps, prestige version of serviced first day covers/Lunar New Year animals souvenir covers affixed with the special stamps, postage prepaid Lunar New Year greeting cards (air mail), “Heartwarming Stamps” mini-panes (local/air mail), Joint Souvenir Packs and Joint Souvenir Packs (Prestige) will be available at philatelic offices only.

     A hand-back date-stamping service will be provided on January 5, 2026, at all post offices for official first day covers/souvenir covers/privately made covers bearing the first day of issue indication and a local address.

     Information about this set of special stamps and associated philatelic products is available on the Hongkong Post Stamps website (stamps.hongkongpost.hk).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, will depart for a visit to Beijing this evening (December 15). He will call on the Ministry of Finance during his stay in Beijing.

     Mr Hui will return to Hong Kong tomorrow evening (December 16). During his absence, the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Lunar New Year special stamps will be issued on January 5, 2026, to ring in the Year of the Horse, Hongkong Post announced today.

The upcoming Lunar New Year special stamp series consists of four stamps and two stamp sheetlets featuring horses in various poses.

A wide range of philatelic products, including a gold and silver stamp sheetlet as well as Year of the Horse joint souvenir packs, will also go on sale.

Click here for details.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Starting today, the Sexual Conviction Record Check Scheme has been expanded to cover volunteers, with a view to strengthening protection for children and mentally incapacitated people, the Government announced.

Volunteers include, but are not limited to, volunteer teachers and volunteer sports coaches.

The Government noted that the scheme remains voluntary in nature, allowing recruiting organisations to decide whether the check is necessary after assessing the risks. Applications are to be submitted by eligible applicants.

It also announced that three additional police stations in Tseung Kwan O, Sheung Shui and Lantau North (Tung Chung) can provide applicants with a 24-hour fingerprint taking service.

Previously, the service was only available at the Police Headquarters in Wan Chai, and at six police stations in North Point, Yau Ma Tei, Ngau Tau Kok, Tuen Mun, Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan.

Eligible applicants can submit applications through an online application platform and make appointments for fingerprint taking.

The Government added that after reviewing relevant experiences, it will consider expanding the scope of the scheme to cover all existing employees and self-employed individuals.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Typhoon Ragasa resulted in the disaster of the Fata’an (Matai’an) barrier lake overflowing and flooding Guangfu Township in Hualien County. In response to this, Taipower has provided electric bill reduction/exemption/delayed payment measures for Guangfu customers affected by the disaster. Low-voltage residences, small stores, agricultural/aquaculture farms, small factories, etc. affected by the disaster are exempt from September and October electric bills; for already-mailed electric bills, collections demands and shut-off operations will be delayed. Also, disaster-affected customers are exempt from the low-kWh minimum charge during the outage period, and applications for power reconnections are exempt from reconnection fees and new construction/installation costs calculated by length. Also, with buildings that are destroyed by the disaster and then rebuilt, applications connection are exempt from cable connection charges.

A Taipower spokesperson states that if a disaster-affected user is a high-voltage user, it will be determined on a case-by-case basis whether or not to apply the reduction/exemption measures. Also, increased disaster shelter electricity fees as a result of sheltering disaster victims and rescue efforts will also be exempt from collection. Taipower is putting these measures in place to help reduce the burden on all people affected by the disaster, and to rebuild homes as soon as possible.

Spokesperson: Vice President Tsai Chih-Meng
Phone: (02) 2366-6271/0958-749-333
Email: u910707@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Department of Business Director Chung Ssu-Suu
Phone: (02)2366-6650/0922-483-804
Email: u149447@taipower.com.tw

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Taipower wins the “corporate sustainability Oscars” yet again! The Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (TCSAs) were awarded today (November 26). Taipower was head and shoulders above a pack of more than 700 companies, winning the high honor of a corporate sustainability award for the 7th time. Taipower also took a Best Sustainability Practice Award, a Talent Development Leadership Award, and a Creative Communication Leadership Award, winning a total of 4 awards. A Taipower spokesperson stated that, as the driving force behind Taiwan’s civil economy and industrial development, Taipower will continue to uphold the principles of ESG operations while giving equal care to a stable power supply and environmentally-sustainable development.

The award ceremony for the 2025’s TCSAs, the 18th iteration of the awards, was held today at the Grand Hotel Taipei. Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Tsai Chih-Meng represented Taipower at the ceremony, accepting the awards from Ministry of Labor Deputy Minister Huang Lin-Na. This year’s awards marked the 17th time that Taipower has won affirmation in the form of a sustainability report award.

A Taipower spokesperson stated that winning this year’s Best Sustainability Practice Award and the Corporate Sustainability Report Platinum Award for the seventh time helps bring attention to Taipower’s eye-catching performance in environmental sustainability, social co-prosperity, and corporate governance. The 5-Part Vision for Sustainable Development disclosed in the report lays out Ten Strategic Pathways and sets action plans for each, earnestly responding to the both the UN’s and Taiwan’s sustainable development goals.

The spokesperson pointed out that in this year’s Workplace Wellbeing Leadership Awards, Taipower also took home a Talent Development Leadership Award and a Creative Communication Leadership Award. Credit for the affirmation of the Talent Development Leadership Award goes to the technical know-how transferal between generations of expert power industry employees. In addition to seeking new recruits through a variety of channels, Taipower also invests strongly in talent training. Taipower puts great emphasis on expertise, safety, and onsite response abilities. Taipower has also held skills competitions for more than half a century now, which continually refine employees’ core abilities while extending generational experience. This helps create the power industry elites needed to take on the mission of providing a stable supply of power.

The spokesperson further explained that the Creative Communication Leadership Award is an affirmation of Taipower’s continued work to promote power industry culture. Since 2016, Taipower has been investing in electrical industry cultural heritage preservation, combining cultural object inventories, collections, research, publishing, displaying, interchanges, and more. Nearly 2000 important cultural objects have been stored in the Taipower Collection Center, and a digital companion in the form of the Electrical Industry Cultural Object Online Collection has also been opened to share with society at large. This highlights how Taipower is promoting the concepts of corporate concern for the humanities and cultural sustainability.

Spokesperson: Chief Administrator Huang Mei-Lien
Phone: (02) 2366-6271/ 0922-696-383
Email: u030573@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Department of Corporate Planning Director Kuo Chiu-Ying
Phone: (02) 2366-6440/0978-105-282
Email: u004770@taipower.com.tw

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

This year, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) organized the first-ever ESG for Culture Impact Awards. Taipower’s long-term investment in electrical industry cultural preservation and promotion of electrical industry culture both won affirmation at the awards. Today (November 21), Taipower won the dual honors of a Long-Term Partnership award and a Resource Assistance award. Taipower continues to uphold its mission of providing a stable supply of power, while also investing in arts and cultural events, cultural heritage conservation, and more. Through the deep connotations of electrical industry culture, Taipower aims to help promote the development of Taiwan’s cultural content industries.

The ceremony for the ESG for Culture Impact Awards was held concurrently with the ceremony for the 17th Arts & Business Awards, at Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. On behalf of Taipower, Vice President Tsai Chih-Meng accepted the awards presented by TAICCA CEO Erica Wang. Taipower has previously won the Ministry of Culture Arts & Business Awards four years running. This year, those awards were divided into individual and group categories. The ESG for Culture Impact Awards, established by TAICCA, are presented to corporations that collaborate on cultural content creators and build ESG impacts. Its first time participating, Taipower has already won affirmation for the Charging Up Culture: Electrical Industry Cultural Heritage Conservation Project.

A Taipower spokesperson pointed out that the electrical industry has been developing for a century in Taiwan. The electrical facilities spread across Taiwan not only support the country’s economic vitality, but are themselves evidence of Taiwan’s economic and social development. In 2016, Taipower initiated the Electrical Industry Cultural Heritage Conservation Project. This combines cultural object inventories, collections, research, publishing, displaying, interchanges, and more. Nearly 2000 important cultural objects have been stored in the Taipower Collection Center. The Center has also opened a digital companion in the form of the Electrical Industry Cultural Object Online Collection, to share with society at large. This highlights how Taipower is promoting the concepts of corporate concern for the humanities and cultural sustainability.

In recent years, Taipower has been working hard to promote broader social participation, aimed at making cultural heritage preservation less about static collections and more aimed at dynamic management. From 2024 to 2025, Taipower has continued to organize Power Industry Cultural Walks by the Xindian and Zhuoshui rivers. These events guide members of the public to a deeper understanding of how electrical facilities are linked to local development. The events also combine local innovative industry and sustainable travel. Taipower is simultaneously promoting oral history, with more than 65 retired electrical industry workers invited to do interviews. These oral histories record the career experiences and life stories of front-line electrical industry tradespeople, helping to preserve Taiwan’s intangible memories and the history of the electrical industry.

The spokesperson further noted that, through ongoing collaboration with cultural content producers, Taipower has in 2025 initiated an electrical industry culture picture book publishing project. An illustrator and author have been invited to learn deeply about Mingtan and Takuan power plants. They have combed through the developmental history of the electrical industry, and then been guided by experts to understand the principles of power generation, and generation unit operations and overhaul processes. The picture book Powe-Ring the Island: A Taiwanese Hydropower Journey through Time and Space (placeholder name), is set to be published in 2026. The book will use words and pictures to help more people see the expertise and beauty of electrical power in Taiwan, and will demonstrate the spirit of multidisciplinary collaboration in cultural content creation.

The spokesperson noted that 2026 will mark the company’s 80th anniversary. In the future, Taipower will continue to work together with cultural content creators and local cultural organizations, using cultural heritage as a medium for conveying the deep connections between electricity, locality, and society. Through the Collection Center, oral history recordings, culture walks, publishing, and the Electrical Industry Cultural Object Online Collection, Taipower will continue to use diverse methods to bring energy knowledge, electrical industry culture, and the spirit of corporate sustainability to the public at large.

Spokesperson: Chief Administrator Huang Mei-Lien
Phone: (02) 2366-6271/0922-696-383
Email: u030573@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Secretariat Director Hu Chung-Hsing
Phone: (02) 2366-6300/0963-805-653
Email: u872628@taipower.com.tw

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Illegal actors have in recent days been impersonating Taipower by sending out emails that say things like “statement error, refund notice, apply for refund immediately”. By talking about calculation errors and refund applications, these scammers have tricked innocent people into clicking on phishing (scam) web-links and then stolen their money. Taipower reminds you that these kinds of emails often use a new type of scam where the entire email is an image. By displaying what appears to be a Taipower URL (web address) in the image, members of the public are tricked into following what is actually a malicious link to a fraudulent website. From there, scammers can trick you into providing your personal data. Taipower reminds you to be on high alert so that you don’t get scammed.

A Taipower spokesperson stated that there are only two ways in which overpaid bills can only be refunded: Transfer as a discount to the next period’s bill, or a refund in person at a service counter. Any email or text message telling you to apply for a refund through other methods is a scam.
The spokesperson pointed out that emails sent out by Taipower related to electrical bills will not attach URLs, nor will they ask you to provide your identification number, credit card number, or other such personal data. If you find that an email you receive has a URL in it, it is a phishing email.
The spokesperson further pointed out that you can also tell that an email is a scam by checking for errors in the sender’s email address, and misspelled/suspicious URLs. If the email obscures your Taipower customer number, obscures the sender’s email address, or has a zip file attachment, then it’s a phishing scam email. Do not click on any link you’re not sure about.

Taipower reminds you that if you encounter any suspicious emails, texts, or phone calls, you should call Taipower’s 24-hour 1911 customer service line or the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s 165 Anti-fraud Hotline to ask questions. Let’s all work together to fight scams and keep our pocketbooks safe!

Spokesperson: Chief Administrator Huang Mei-Lien
Phone: (02) 2366-6271/ 0922-696-383
Email: u030573@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Department of Business Director Chung Ssu-Suu
Phone: (02) 2366-6650/0922-483-804
Email: u149447@taipower.com.tw

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Great news from the Taipower Women’s Badminton team! Taiwan’s elite women’s singles badminton player Chiu Pin-Chian took the women’s singles championship at the 2025 Korea Masters (Super 300 class), which came to a close yesterday (November 9). This was the first Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super championship that she has taken. She is also Taiwan’s first women’s singles player to pass the Super 300 since the “Queen of Badminton”, Tai Tzu-Ying. Chiu Pin-Chian’s world ranking represents a new career high, making her Taiwan’s current highest-ranked women’s singles badminton player.

Chiu was born and bred in Kaohsiung. For 16 years now, she has flourished within Taiwan’s domestic training system. From a young age, she has demonstrated a determined fighting spirit and a great passion for badminton. She is the perfect portrait of the Taiwanese people’s spirit of hard work and self-encouragement. In 2018, Chiu joined the Taipower Women’s Badminton team. With strong support from the coaching staff and Taipower, she has continued to refine her badminton skills and reach new personal bests. Last year (2024), she stood out brilliantly by winning three separate 3rd-place titles in the Super 300, hugely increasing her world ranking. This year, she has shown eye-catching performance on the global stage. This chance to stand atop the championship platform at the Korea Masters games has created a new milestone in her career.

Taipower continues to help develop outstanding talent for athletics in Taiwan. Taipower provides a robust training environment and stable support that have helped train many national-level champions over the years, and which have provided these champions with life-long work. Chiu Pin-Chian is Taiwan’s first international women’s singles badminton champion to get through the Super 300 since Tai Tzu-Ying. A Taipower spokesperson expressed hopes that all the hard work that the Women’s Badminton team have put in keep Taiwanese badminton throwing off sparks of glory around the world. The spokesperson also stated that Sung Shuo-Yun, one of Chiu’s teammates, became Taiwan’s “First Elder Sister” upon becoming the world’s 18th-highest-ranked player. Sung has been working her way back up the rankings since recovering from an injury, and hopes to strive shoulder-to-shoulder with Chiu to win glory for Taiwan.

Spokesperson: Chief Administrator Huang Mei-Lien
Phone: (02) 2366-6650/0922-696-383
Email: u030573@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Department of Human Resources Director Shen Shu-Li
Phone: (02) 2366-7320/0920-459-090
Email: u149031@taipower.com.tw

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

An investigation report submitted by Control Yuan members has expressed concern about Taipower nuclear power plants’ seismic resilience. A Taipower spokesperson has explained that, since 2015 and in compliance with Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) requirements, Taipower has completed probabilistic seismic hazard analyses (PSHAs) for nuclear power plants based on the US Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) Level 3 protocol. Based on the analysis results, Taipower has implemented seismic strengthening of facilities related to safe shutdowns, and this has received NSC review and approval for filing.

Taipower has also completed seismic probabilistic risk assessments (SPRAs) for Kuosheng and Ma’anshan Nuclear Power Plants. These include secondary hazards resulting from earthquakes. The initial SPRAs showed that Kuosheng and Ma’anshan’s overall risk meet the standard. However, the assessment results and risk calculations await NSC review.

In addition, in 2024 and 2025, Taipower complied with NSC requests by inviting a foreign expert delegation to perform a parallel SPRA review. Based on the parallel review opinions, Taipower is currently implementing seismic margin improvements for safety facilities, running feasibility assessments, and recalculating earthquake risk values. Taipower will, in accordance with the law, complete the seismic safety assessment report and submit it to the NSC for technical review.

A spokesperson for Taipower reiterated that the use of nuclear power must abide by the government’s Two Requirements and the Three Principles, and that nuclear safety has always been Taipower’s utmost concern. At present, the current status of Taiwan’s nuclear power plants has been reported to the Ministry of Economic Affairs for review. Next steps will include restart planning and safety inspections that include seismic resistance, all of which will be carried out in accordance with NSC review requirements and related regulations.

Spokesperson: Chief Administrator Huang Mei-Lien
Phone: (02) 2366-6650/0922-696-383
Email: u030573@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person: Department of Nuclear Technology Director Chang Chin-Kuan
Phone: (02) 2366-7110/0972-787-866
Email: u685014@taipower.com.tw