The National Communications Commission (NCC) surprised industry stakeholders in the fall of 2015 when, after years of study and preparation, it abruptly released the proposed text of a series of five new laws intended to promote digital convergence. The five draft acts cover electronic communication, telecom infrastructure and resources, cable systems, telecom services, and terrestrial…
After arriving late to the 4G game, Taiwan is determined to capitalize early on the next generation of mobile communication technology. Taiwan has ambitious plans for 5G, a new mobile communication technology with faster speeds, greater capacity, and lower latency (transmission delays) than current network systems. Telecom industry watchers expect the official 5G standard to…
Steeped in the contract-manufacturing ethos, companies still often fall short in their bid to become global brands. Just half a decade ago, HTC was riding high as a proud example of a Taiwan company that had succeeded in establishing its brand among the world’s top makers of handsets. But the Taoyuan-based manufacturer has lost 90%…
Taiwan’s rising emphasis on high-quality lifestyle has spurred a wave of new homegrown brands offering everything from premium accommodations to inventive cuisine. Taiwan ranked as Asia’s third-happiest country behind Singapore and Thailand in a report released in March by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Overall, Taiwan came in 35th in…
Among Taiwanese scooter brands, the relative newcomer Gogoro is an anomaly. Unlike such major scooter makers as Kymco and SYM, Gogoro did not begin as an OEM or ODM producer. If that suggests the company may lack the manufacturing acumen of some of its competitors, it also means that Gogoro may have an easier time…
More than 70 years after the Japanese occupation of Taiwan ended, Japan’s legacy endures in the Taiwanese capital. At first blush, little remains of Japan’s colonial legacy in Taipei. The traditional Japanese wooden homes that lined the Taiwanese capital’s streets in the mid-20th century were long ago razed to make way for contemporary mid-…
In this Year of the Monkey, a reminder of the sometimes strained relations between humans and Taiwan’s other primates. The scene playing out on Kaohsiung’s Shoushan could be an illustration from a visitor’s guide on how not to engage with the Formosan rock macaque, a primate species endemic to the mountains of Taiwan. Most of…
The boom of the last eight years is coming to an end as Chinese tourists decline and hotel oversupply grows more severe. Former President Ma Ying-jeou sought closer relations with China as a way to expand Taiwan’s economy. While the results of the various initiatives undertaken by the Ma administration remain open to debate, in…
This is Part 3 of the cover story on Pharmaceuticals: Links to Part 1, Part 2 The controversy over the biotech company has ensnared the president of Academia Sinica, as well as the company chairman. The Taiwanese biotech firm OBI Pharma has struggled since revealing in late February that Phase III clinical trials for its…
This is Part 2 of the cover story on Pharmaceuticals: Links to Part 1, Part 3 The incidence of cancer is rising in Taiwan as the population rapidly ages. In 2013 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), 99,143 Taiwanese were diagnosed with cancer, an increase of 2,449 people from 2012, according to a…
