About this episode
Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News.
Tai-Ex opening
The Tai-Ex opened down 194-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
30,746 on turnover of 11.3-billion N-T.
The market gained ground again on Wednesday as buying rotated to select tech
stocks that had been lagging behind semiconductor shares in recent sessions.
Presidential impeachment hearings begin
Lawmakers have begin public hearings to discuss impeaching President Lai
Ching-te.
The first hearing took place yesterday and a second hearing is scheduled for
today as part of the legislature's impeachment review process.
The Committee of the Whole Yuan will then hold formal (???) review
meetings on January 21 and 22.
The lead sponsors will use those meetings to explain the grounds for
impeachment and Lai will be invited to give a 15-minute statement followed by
questioning by lawmakers.
A second review meeting is scheduled for May, after which the impeachment
case will be put to a vote in the Legislative Yuan on May 19.
The impeachment needs a two-thirds majority of lawmakers for it to pass.
Taiwan passport rises three spots in global ranking
Taiwan's passport has risen three place in the latest Henley Passport Index
to move up to 33rd spot.
The rise means it returned to the same place it was in the rankings in
January of last year.
The index rank passports by the number of destinations its holder can travel
to without a visa.
The latest survey shows that Taiwan passport holders can travel to 139
countries and territories without a visa.
The Singaporean passport was ranked (??) the most powerful with visa-free
access to 192 destinations out of a total of 227.
US to freeze visa processing for 75 countries
The Trump Administration says it will indefinitely halt visa processing for
immigrants from 75 countries, including Brazil, Russia and Iran.
The State Department says this latest restriction - which kicks in next week
- is aimed at people trying to quote .. "extract (??) wealth from the
American people."
Toni Waterman has more from DC
Canada BC Ends Experiment Decriminalizing Limited Drug Possession
Canada’s Pacific coast province of British Columbia is ending its three-year
experiment in decriminalizing possession (??) of small amounts of drugs.
British Columbia's health minister says the province is not seeking an
extension (??) of its agreement with Canada’s feder
