The Taiwan government is encouraging the country’s insurance companies to tap into their NT$23 trillion (US$767 billion) in insurance funds to help support national infrastructure and development projects. At the top of the list is the green energy portion of the government’s “5+2” key innovative industry program. With the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) committed…
Revitalizing the creative industries could raise Taiwan’s global profile and boost the economy. In late 2001, Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hisen’s new film Millennium Mambo opened in Paris cinemas with great fanfare. MK2, one of France’s top independent film companies, showed the film in its Paris theaters alongside big Hollywood productions such as David Lynch’s Mulholland…
The Tsai Ing-wen administration sees substantial infrastructure investment as the key to economic revival. The Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program now being implemented focuses on eight different categories. The segment devoted to rail transportation has drawn the most attention. Low domestic investment has long plagued the Taiwan economy. The insurance industry alone has accumulated NT$25 trillion…
The government plans to spend billions to expand railways nationwide. Critics ask whether it is an optimal use of resources. The high-speed rail (HSR) has pride of place among Taiwan’s contemporary infrastructure. Modeled after Japan’s shinkansen (bullet train), the HSR is fast and efficient. Running along the island’s populous West Coast at top speeds of…
Despite Taiwan’s Austronesian past and unique food culture, it is surprising that visitors to Taipei cannot sample the country’s earliest cuisine in style. Taiwan’s Indigenous people have a long and proud tradition of essentially slow-cooked food that emphasizes seasonal and organic ingredients – quite in line with the foodie movement currently in vogue. But you…
More and more restaurants have been opening as increasing numbers of Taiwanese diners have come to appreciate Indian cooking. When Daniel Hsiung first arrived in Taiwan over 22 years ago, only a few Indian restaurants, including the venerable Tandoor Indian Restaurant, founded in 1989, could be found on the island. The overseas Chinese from Kolkata…
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…
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…
Fully automatic buses are already being tested in Taipei for late-night service. Backed by its solid base in ICT (information-communications technology), Taiwan is gearing up for the coming trend of driverless cars, which is expected to revolutionize transportation worldwide within 10 years. Taiwanese automaker Yulon Motor Co. has been among the leaders domestically in this…
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 –…
