While en route to Singapore to participate in a military exercise, two Okinawa-based F/A-18 fighter jets with the U.S. Marines Fighter Attack Squadron made an emergency landing at Taiwan’s Tainan Air Force Base on April 1 due to a mechanical problem experienced by one of the planes. Guided to the base by jets from the…
Despite Export Drop, Growth Remains Steady The Taiwan economy saw declines in March in everything from housing sales to inflation to unemployment and exports. One thing that didn’t decline, however, was the economic growth forecast. The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) raised its forecast for GDP growth in 2015 from 3.5% to 3.56%, based…
Economist John Anderson observed at a recent AmCham luncheon that the Taiwan economy in recent years has been a rather lackluster performer compared with regional peers, but on the other has avoided many of the financial problems besetting its neighbors, such as unsustainable credit booms and sharp currency depreciations, and delivers solid if unremarkable economic…
The number of billionaires in Taiwan rose to 38 in the 2015 Forbes Billionaires list, up from 28 in 2014. Snack food king Tsai Eng-meng, chairman of the Want Want group, retained his position at the top of the list despite dropping from US$9.5 billion to US$8.9 billion in total wealth and falling to 147…
The Kaohsiung City Government has ordered petrochemical companies that use underground pipelines within its boundaries to relocate their headquarters to the city. It said that if the companies refuse, they will be banned from using the pipelines, and described the change as needed to improve safety in the wake of pipeline explosions that killed more…
China began trial runs of its controversial M503 flight path on March 15, according to an announcement by Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration. The flight path was criticized because as initially announced, it would run just 7.8 kilometers from the median line separating the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan government charged that Beijing…
Taiwan highly acclaimed Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation on March 16 withdrew its controversial plan to develop an environmentally sensitive piece of land in Taipei’s Neihu District following allegations that the group was trying to steamroll the project over environmental concerns and that it used donation funds to purchase property and stocks. Tzu Chi…
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je continues to gain media attention with verbal gaffes, including his March 8 reference to foreign brides as having been “imported.” His remarks raised the ire of various organizations, including the Taipei branch of the Female Immigrant Care Association and the TransAsia Sisterhood Alliance, who demonstrated in front of the mayor’s residence…
DPP Chair Tsai Ing-wen accepted the resignation of party spokeswoman Hsu Chia-ching on March 9 following Hsu’s recent allegations that former president Chen Shui-bian had accepted billions of NT dollars in bribes from construction magnates during his presidency. Speaking before the Taiwan Benevolent Association of Dallas, Texas, on February 15, Hsu said she had been…
Painful memories of the 2-2-8 massacre were brought to the fore as Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je wept during ceremonies marking the anniversary of the event while recalling his grandfather, who died as a result of torture during the incident. The 228 Incident began on February 27, 1947 with the beating of a contraband-cigarette vendor…
