Like most people who have had the opportunity to live and work in Taiwan, members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei deeply appreciate the many virtues of this society. The Chamber’s recently conducted 2017 Business Climate Survey, the main results of which are reported in this issue, underscored this wide recognition of the…
Patients with rare congenital and chronic catastrophic diseases are often debilitated and impoverished by their conditions. These diseases are generally little known, even to physicians, and patients in the U.S. and EU suffer for an average of five to seven years before being accurately diagnosed. Even after diagnosis, effective treatment is frequently unavailable. The low…
Last October in this space, in an editorial entitled “A Significant Initiative,” AmCham Taipei hailed the Taiwan government’s decision to extend the notice-and-comment period for proposed new or revised regulations. Previously a mere 14 days, hardly enough time for stakeholders to absorb the content of the proposed new measures and to formulate a comprehensive response,…
Watching from the sidelines, Taiwan had cheered the efforts of the 12 countries negotiating to create the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in hope that this economy would be able to enter the multilateral trade agreement in a second round. Now, with the declaration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that he will announce the United States’ withdrawal…
This is a special supplement to the December 2016 issue of Taiwan Business TOPICS, sponsored by the AmCham Taipei Medical Devices Committee. The full PDF document is available for download here. Table of Contents: Preface, Challenges and Opportunities The Value of Technology Streamlining the Medical Device Registration Process Referencing Japan Strengthening the Pricing and Reimbursement…
Corning Incorporated celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Corning Research Center in Taiwan by hosting the Corning Innovation Forum in coordination with Global Views Monthly Magazine. Themed “Innovation: Connecting to the future,” the Forum invited industry experts from the Institute for Information Industry (III), Ford Lio Ho Motor Co., and the Ministry of Health and…
The new Ford Kuga, introduced by Ford Taiwan on November 8, is setting new benchmarks on safety, smart and fuel-efficiency. The Kuga sports a refreshed look with a prominent hexagonal grille and serious headlights, as well as ergonomic enhancements that make the interior even roomier and more comfortable. But what really sets the new Kuga…
Formosa Workers Protest Shutdown Employees of the Formosa Chemicals and Fiber Corp. (FCFC) staged several demonstrations during October, some of which became violent, to protest potential job losses due to the closure of the company’s plant in Changhua over environmental issues. Changhua County’s Bureau of Environmental Protection denied the extension of operating permits for the…
Tsai Pays Respects to King of “Tailand” President Tsai visited the representative offices of the Kingdom of Thailand on October 17 to pay her respects following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away October 13. During her visit, where Thai officials displayed photos of the king meeting with the late Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek,…
To many people, the above abbreviations may simply look like alphabet soup, but the relationships they stand for can be expected to play a crucial role in shaping Taiwan’s economic future. The TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership, represents a potential opportunity for Taiwan to break out of its near isolation in terms of participation in free…
