The Tai-Ex opened flat this morning from Friday's close, at 23,274 on

turnover of 3.2-billion N-T.

The market closed slightly higher Friday as turnover stayed low with many

foreign institutional investors still away from the market for the New Year's

holiday

Turnover fell below the 300-billion N-T level, but select large-cap stocks in

both the electronics and non-tech sectors appeared resilient, helping the

broader market end above the previous close.

The Mainland Affairs Council says it will open investigations into

allegations of Taiwanese citizens holding Chinese I-D cards.

The statement follows claims made by Taiwanese YouTubers in a recent

documentary.

According to the council, the holding of Chinese I-D cards by Taiwanese

citizens is evidence of Beijing's United Front efforts and is not about

"making friends, but about 'offering benefits (好處)".

The move comes after YouTubers Ba Jiong and Chen Po-yuan released a

60-minute video this past weekend …

.. in which they interviewed an unnamed intermediary who claimed that

approximately 100,000 Taiwanese citizens currently hold a Chinese ID card.

And,

A single black-faced spoonbill has broken Taiwan's record for the most

documented visits by one of the migratory species.

The female bird has been identified by its leg band as T-69 and broke the

record after being found to have traveled to Taiwan for nine consecutive

(連續的) years.

The Taijiang National Park Headquarters says the bird has returned to Tainan

annually every October since 2015.

The migratory bird's repeated presence has resulted in bird watchers dubbing

it "Daughter of Tainan" and "Daughter of Taijiang."

Of the 4,100 spoonbills counted in Taiwan, 2,088 were spotted in Tainan.

A jetliner skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into

flames in South Korea after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy.

Officials said all but two of the 181 people on board were killed Sunday in

one of the country’s worst aviation (航空) disasters.

The 737-800 operated by Jeju Air plane arrived from Bangkok and crashed while

attempting to land in the town of Muan, about 290 kilometers south of Seoul.

Footage of the crash aired by South Korean television channels showed the

plane skidding across the airstrip at high speed, evidently with its landing

gear (起落架；起落裝置) still closed.

Officials were investigating the cause of the crash, including whether the

aircraft was struck by birds, Lee said.

Investigators retrieved the jet's flight data and cockpit voice recorders,

but they say it may take months to complete the probe into the crash.

southern U.S.

Tornadoes and severe (劇烈) storms have ripped through the U-S States of

Texas and Mississippi, killing at least four people over the weekend.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports

That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____.

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