More flexible job schedules could attract more women into the workforce. At the same time as Taiwan is suffering from an insufficient supply of talent in many employment categories, it has not been making optimal use of a major portion of its population: its women. According to the latest statistics from the Executive Yuan’s Department…
Growing opportunities for foreign students in Taiwan and Taiwanese going abroad. Taiwan has a generally excellent educational system. The main challenge is to make the rest of the world aware of its quality and to enable education in Taiwan to be more easily accessible to foreigners. At the primary and secondary levels, Taiwan’s education system…
Former Premier Hau Pei-Tsun Dies Former Premier Hau Pei-tsun passed away at the age of 100 at the end of March. As a young military officer, Hau had fought in the Chinese Civil War, and as an army commander stationed on Kinmen had been in charge of its defenses during a landmark 44-day bombardment of…
President Tsai’s Pandemic Diplomacy In early April, President Tsai Ing-wen announced a new diplomatic initiative in an attempt to turn Taiwan’s success in battling the coronavirus into a geopolitical win, despite China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan politically. Noting that Taiwan had transformed from being an importer of facemasks to the world’s second largest producer, she…
Is the IMF being too negative? In the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook for April, Taiwan’s GDP forecast for 2020 was set at a horrendous -4%, a figure that government officials are doing their best to refute. The National Development Council is arguing that the IMF did not have full knowledge of Taiwan’s economy…
In Taiwan, the emergence of smaller parties has been part of the island’s democratic development. The unexpected victory of political newcomer Chen Po-wei for a seat in the Legislative Yuan in this January’s elections has drawn fresh attention to the position of minor parties in Taiwan’s political arena. Chen ran on the ticket of the…
Two industrial sectors appear particularly promising for Taiwan to develop as a regional center for the Asia Pacific. The best opportunities for Taiwan to play a strong regional role may lie with its fast-developing capability in offshore wind power and its already well-established foundation as a high-tech R&D center. Taiwan has big expectations for wind…
Bechtel is the U.S.’s largest private construction firm. In its more than 120 years of operation, the company’s projects have included the Hoover Dam, the Channel Tunnel, and construction of over 30% of global Liquified Natural Gas capacity. While Bechtel has had a presence in China for many years, the company closed its Shanghai regional…
As a center of operations for local and foreign businesses across numerous industries, Taiwan has a lot to offer. However, some lingering issues require creative solutions if it is to compete on the same level as some of its neighbors. Back in the 1990s, the idea of Taiwan becoming a regional operations hub for a…
The Taiwanese have learned the value of “Reduce” and “Reuse” in dealing with the trash households produce. Each night at a designated time in Taipei neighborhoods, a bright yellow garbage truck makes an appearance, its arrival signaled by a sound system playing a familiar tune such as Beethoven’s Für Elise. Trailing close behind are one…
