**Tai-Ex opening **

The Tai-Ex opened down 37-points this morning from yesterday's close, at

14,186 on turnover of 1.9-billion N-T.

The market bounced back from early losses on Tuesday, to close the first

trading session of 2023 in positive territory, but turnover remained thin

amid investor worries over a possible global recession this year.

The bellwether electronics sector led the rebound, while old economy and new

energy sector stocks also attracted buying on the back of government efforts

to push renewable power development.

**Tainan City Council Speaker Questioned in Vote-Buying Probe **

Newly-elected Tainan City Council Speaker Qiu Li-li has been questioned in

connection with an investigation into vote buying.

According to the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office, Qiu was questioned

after authorities searched her residence and over 20 other locations.

Those locations included the homes of Deputy Speaker Lin Zhi-zhan as well as

city councilors Li Wen-chun, Zhang Shi-xian and Li Zhen-guo.

Prosecutors says they opened the investigation into allegations of electoral

manipulation after receiving a tip-off in November.

Qiu beat incumbent Speaker Guo Hsin-liang in a vote on December 25 after in

which Li Wen-chun, Zhang Shi-xian and Li Zhen-guo all broke party ranks with

the K-M-T to back the D-P-P nominee.

Reports at the time speculated that the three then-KMT councilors had been

bribed.

**Eslite to Close 24-hour Branch in Taipei's Xinyi District in December **

Eslite has confirmed that its 24-hour branch in Taipei's Xinyi District will

close its doors in December.

According to the bookstore chain, the pending (待辦的) closure comes after it

failed to convince its landlord to extend the existing lease.

Eslite says it will continue to promote (推廣) culture and humanities in

Taiwan and provide a 24-hour service - and there is speculation that its

nearby Songyan store will become Eslite's and Taiwan's only 24-hour bookstore.

However, there has been no official confirmation of those reports.

The Xinyi store first opened 24-hours a day in mid-2020 after the Eslite

Dunnan store was closed.

**China Criticizes COVID19 Requirements on Travelers **

The Chinese government has sharply criticized COVID-19 testing requirements

being imposed on visitors from China and threatening countermeasures against

countries involved.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a daily briefing Tuesday that China

believes the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting

passengers from China lack scientific basis.

China abruptly (突然) eased strict anti-virus measures in December, leading

to a surge in cases.

Countries including the U.S., U.K., India, Japan and several European nations

have announced tougher measures on travelers from China.

Many are worried about a lack of data from China and fear that new variants

may spread.

**NYC Machete Attacker to be Arraigned **

The 19-year-old accused on attacking 3 police officers with a machete near

Times Square on New Years Eve is expected to be arraigned (傳訊) tomorrow,

meanwhile his mother reached out to police last month to express concerns

about him.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports. ((No Excerpting Sound))

That was the I.C.R.T. news,

Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded

every day in the afternoon.

Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____.

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