Taiwan’s producers must move up the value chain as Chinese competitors undercut them on price in the mass market. The optoelectronics sector, a fixture in Taiwan’s science parks, has faced intensifying competition from China in recent years. Like the Taiwanese before them, the Chinese have focused on making products of acceptable quality at a low…
Since the first park opened in Hsinchu in 1980, the emphasis has been on accommodating manufacturers of technology hardware products. That focus is expected to start changing, as Taiwan’s industrial upgrading puts more stress on software, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Over the decades, much of Taiwan’s success as a global manufacturing…
With their heavy exposure to China, Taiwanese tech firms are feeling the bite of the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. For years, China bears warned Taiwanese tech firms about their dependence on the Chinese market. A deep recession in China or a cross-Strait relations crisis could spell trouble for companies overly reliant on Chinese manufacturing…
Adroit marketing and retailing have helped China’s top handset makers boost sales in Taiwan, but concerns about data security are mounting. Among smartphone brands, Taiwanese consumers have long favored Apple, which holds a little over one-quarter of the market. Samsung follows with almost 19%, according to data from German research firm GFK Global. Subsidies from…
To become Asia’s blockchain hub, Taiwan will need to overcome bureaucratic inertia and stiff competition from Singapore and Hong Kong. Cryptocurrency is dead. Long live blockchain. That’s the growing consensus among all but the most ardent crypto bulls as governments move to crimp virtual currency but explore uses for its underlying distributed ledger technology. Bitcoin,…
Authentic Thai cuisine is no longer hard to find in Taipei thanks to changing tastes and more outbound tourism. The Taiwanese have always been ambivalent about spicy food. Some Taiwanese revel in the explosive effects of chili peppers on the palate (consider the popularity of spicy hot pot here), but just as many balk at…
As more people embrace new flavors and healthy living, vegetarian cuisine is no longer confined to traditional Buddhist dishes. Fifteen years ago, Taipei-based restaurateur Marco Lapka and his wife Queenie Wu added a twist to their vacations. When on holiday, they would eat only vegetarian meals. “It’s easy to find good meals with meat almost…
Taipei has its attractions as a site for international events, but it needs a fresh mindset to win business in the ultra-competitive Asia market. Arriving at Taoyuan Airport, travelers normally pass through immigration, customs, and the baggage claim smoothly. But upon entering the arrivals area of Taipei’s primary international airport, the experience gets bumpier for…
Both economic and political considerations are behind the move to reduce the island’s dependence on visitors from China. Taiwan is aiming to attract more Muslim visitors from Southeast Asia in a bid to diversify its flagging tourism market, which has suffered from overdependence on China. Once the source of 40% of Taiwan’s 10 million annual…
Changes in regulatory approaches are expected to cut deeply into the home sharing platform’s Taiwan business. Home sharing is a great way to experience Taiwan. During my two trips last year to Kinmen, the Taiwan-governed archipelago off the coast of China’s Fujian Province, I stayed in the same bed and breakfast, Shangheryuan. In between sightseeing…
