I’ve attended many conferences this year. I’ve heard a lot of speeches. One of the most interesting and hard-hitting so far was a talk recently given by Charlene Barshefsky, the top trade negotiator for the U.S. from 1997 to 2001. She spoke last month at AmCham Hong Kong’s annual China Conference, which should be a…
Before the U.S. government announcement last month that it would sell 66 F-16 Viper jet fighters to Taiwan in a deal valued at US$8 billion, there hadn’t been an American sale of advanced military aircraft to the island since the George H.W. Bush administration agreed to supply an earlier version of the F-16 in 1992….
Our members rave about their employees. They’re hardworking. Open to training. Have strong business ethics. They can be trusted. And they execute tasks well. But our Business Climate Survey this year identified some areas that could be stronger. They include English ability and communication skills. Creativity and the ability to innovate. An international mindset. And…
The AmCham Taipei CEO Mission that visited Washington, D.C., this June found growing interest among American government officials in seeking ways to strengthen bilateral relations with Taiwan. As reported in this issue of TOPICS, there now appears to be greater understanding and appreciation in Washington of Taiwan’s strategic value in the Indo-Pacific as a staunch…
If you’re waiting for things to go back to the way they were a couple years ago, it’s not going to happen. That was one of the key messages we heard during this summer’s CEO Mission to Washington, D.C., formerly known as “The Doorknock.” Officials in the Trump administration along with Democrats and Republicans in…
People often ask me what’s my favorite destination in Taiwan, and I always tell them the East Coast – the entire East Coast. I love buying a train ticket from Taipei to Taitung and spending the better part of the day looking out the window at the stunning passing scenery – the mountains dropping off…
The Board of Governors recently approved some major updates to our mission statement. The “About the Chamber” page on our website now says, “AmCham works to improve the business environment in Taiwan, making it more open, innovative and prosperous for all companies that want to be globally competitive. We also serve as a vital bridge…
Artificial intelligence will be the electricity of the twenty-first century – a technology that will supercharge industries across the board. That’s just one of many bold observations from Taiwanese venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee’s new book, AI Super-powers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order. It’s a provocative must-read for anyone who wants to better…
The cover story in this issue of Taiwan Business TOPICS looks back with appreciation to 40 years ago this month when the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), freshly passed by Congress, became U.S. law with President Jimmy Carter’s signature. The drafting of the TRA – a process in which AmCham Taipei is proud to have played a…
Forty years ago, AmCham Taipei members found themselves in the middle of a giant geopolitical shift – the new diplomatic alliance between Washington and Beijing. The ramifications for Taiwan were significant, creating serious challenges that are described well in this issue of TOPICS. The heroic way AmCham members stepped up to meet the challenges is…
