Taipei - Taiwan's economic woes are causing an increasing number of the island's residents to search for work in China, a job placement agency said Friday.

According to the 104 Job Bank, an average of 22,000 Taiwan job seekers a day contacted the placement agency in March, asking for for jobs in China, up 20 per cent from February and up 30 per cent year-on-year.

The figure is the highest since the human resources agency started operations in 1996.

Taipei - Taiwanese interpreter Clare Wang became the top contender for the dream job as caretaker of an unmanned island off the coast of Australia Thursday after the No 2 candidate was disqualified.

The Queensland tourism board removed Russian candidate Julia Yalovitsyna from the top-50 shortlist because she featured in an "inappropriate video." The judging panel was also probing claims that she worked as a porn star.

Taipei - Taiwan said Thursday it did not oppose to its longtime ally El Salvador's possibly establishing diplomatic ties with the island's political rival China.

"What we care is to secure our relations" with El Salvador, said Taiwan's foreign minister Francisco Ou.

His comment came after El Salvador's new President-elect Maurico Funes said Wednesday he would consider establishing diplomatic ties with China when he was to take office on June 1.

Taipei - Two NBA teams will visit Taiwan and China in October to play warm-up games before the start of the NBA season, a newspaper said Thursday.

The Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers will play a preseason game on October 8 at the Taipei Arena. Taiwan's basketball association next month will announce details of the game, the Apple Daily quoted an unnamed sports official as saying.

The two teams will send a total of 30 players, including Denver forward Carmelo Anthony, Indiana forward Danny Granger and NBA legend Larry Bird, now the Pacers' president of basketball operations.

Taipei  - Taiwan's farm exports rose 12 per cent in value year-on-year, with rice and carrot exports surging more than 100 per cent, due to growing overseas demand, a newspaper said Wednesday.

According to the United Evening News, Taiwan's 2008 farm exports hit 3.8 billion US dollars, up 12 per cent from 2007, bringing exports up to pre-1997 levels, when and outbreak of pig foot-and-mouth disease crashed meat exports.

Taipei  - The Red Cross societies of Taiwan and China are to increase cooperation with the signing of an agreement that follows improved relations across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) said Wednesday.

Chen Shih-kuei, secretary general of the Taiwan Red Cross, was quoted as saying that a pact was to be signed soon in Taipei with China's Red Cross. Their first agreement was signed 19 years ago.

The new agreement is to include cooperation in the areas of medical assistance and sea rescues, Chen said.