Energetic Italian chefs are introducing one of the world’s great cuisines to the Taiwanese capital. Botega del Vin belies its posh East Taipei location. The restaurant may be situated amid luxury residences a stone’s throw from ZhongXiao East Road, but it feels like a trattoria – a rustic Italian eating establishment that usually caters to…
Publication is expected to help Taiwan’s outstanding restaurants achieve a higher profile internationally and boost tourism. Epicureans with an affinity for Chinese food have long appreciated Taipei’s culinary offerings. The Taiwanese capital has a rich variety of Chinese eateries, from no-frills street stalls specializing in scallion pancake to elegant Cantonese hotel restaurants. Compared to neighboring…
Imports continue to eat away at the Taiwan manufacturers’ market share, while vehicle sales are flat overall. New car sales have long been flat in Taiwan. Last year, a government subsidy program boosted sales to 439,000 units, an annual increase of 4.5%, and the best performance in a decade. This year marks a return to…
Despite an ambitious government initiative designed to help improve air quality, Taiwan has been slow to embrace electrically powered motor vehicles. Besides electric scooters, the major progress to date has been in development of electrically powered buses, which are already in service in several cities. Nearly all of the electric cars on Taiwan’s roads –…
The conviction of a Chinese student for spying and allegations of self-censorship by universities are provoking heated debate about cross-Strait educational exchanges. In September, a former Chinese student in Taiwan was convicted of spying for the People’s Republic of China and sentenced to 14 months in prison. Zhou Hongxu, a native of Liaoning Province, allegedly…
Demand for English classroom courses remains strong. But student numbers are dwindling amid a low birth rate, weak economy, and the challenge from e-learning. In the mid-2000s, Taiwan still had a faint flavor of the Wild Wild East. Parties in nightclubs lasted well past sunrise, and revelers often spilled out onto the street. Complaints about…
More international students are coming to pursue graduate degrees, but a more global outlook will be needed to capitalize on this trend. Tomas Swinburne came to Taiwan by way of Beijing, where he found life stifling. “Taiwan is just a lot more pleasant,” says the 25-year-old Irishman, who won a scholarship from the Ministry of…
The government has undertaken various initiatives to promote the island as a center for learning Mandarin. The global craze to learn Chinese has moved in tandem with China’s rise, with the number of students surging since the mid-2000s. Even Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s five-year-old daughter Arabella has been part of the trend, enabling her…
With the U.S. tech giant ready to launch three iPhone models this year, Taiwanese suppliers and transporters expect a big boost in business. The Taiwan technology sector is often criticized for lacking viable brands. In the consumer electronics category, the number of big names can be counted on one hand, and these companies have generally…
The flagging handset maker sold part of its mobile-phone business to Google and is expected to turn its focus to virtual reality. In early 2013, Gerald Fu decided to buy his first smartphone. He went with Taiwan’s HTC “because I thought it was better than a mainland Chinese brand and cheaper than an iPhone,” says…
