TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — “Typhoon” was the most searched subject on Google in Taiwan for 2023, the search engine announced on Monday (Dec. 11).
Typhoons have been a significant concern for people in Taiwan, as the country experienced the impact of five typhoons in 2023. This follows an unusual weather pattern that saw zero typhoon landings for three consecutive years, leading to water shortages and other challenges.
Along with typhoons, the top ten most searched topics included ChatGPT, the World Baseball Classic, NT$6,000 tax rebate, iPhone 15, Israel, the blue-white coalition, baseball games at Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, Women’s World Cup, and Turkey earthquakes.
In a blog disclosing the 2023 Year in Search results, Google Taiwan said the list reflected Taiwanese netizens’ concerns about daily life, sports events, major international occurrences, and political affairs, especially as the 2024 presidential election approaches.
Notably, search preferences for figures revealed public interest in the #Metoo movement, K-pop waves, presidential candidates, baseball players, and AI. Renowned TV host Mickey Huang (黃子佼) claimed the top spot due to an explosive revelation about his role in sexual harassment allegations, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), who made multiple visits to Taiwan, came in eighth place.
In other categories, the Taiwanese crime series "Copycat Killer" (模仿犯) emerged as the most inquired-about TV drama. Regarding overseas destinations, Okinawa was the most searched-for place, followed by Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, Macau, Palau, Hokkaido, Bangkok, Seoul, and Busan in the top ten list.
These insights were compiled based on data collected between December 2022 and November 2023.