When six prominent U.S. Senators – three Democrats and three Republicans – introduced a resolution early last month urging the Biden administration to begin negotiations with Taiwan on a double-taxation avoidance agreement, the text of the resolution made a point of calling attention to AmCham Taiwan’s support for such an agreement as expressed in its…
As Taiwan strives to become a more inclusive society for foreign residents, it is heartening to see the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) working to level the playing field in the banking sector. AmCham recognizes and appreciates the FSC’s efforts to make the banking sector more accessible to foreign residents. The push for bilingual services and…
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote: Dove that ventured outside… knows what serenity is, for she has felt her wings pass through all distance and fear in the course of her wanderings… The ball that we dared, that we hurled into infinite space, doesn’t it fill our hands differently with its return: heavier by the…
The U.S. Congress in December passed legislation creating the long-awaited Taiwan Fellowship Program to deepen the relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan. Since the idea was first proposed more than a decade ago, AmCham Taiwan has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Program, which will enable the United States each year to send 10 federal…
Soon after this issue is in your hands, I’ll be landing in Washington, D.C., and returning a “window on Japan” to my life. By March I will have taken over stewardship of the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS), a developer of thought and exchange programs for 38 grassroots societies across North America that promote…
The President’s View appropriate to our annual Wine & Dine feature would be tasting notes on Taiwanese fruit beers. But I cannot resist a sobering look back at the last year for AmCham, paired with mention of two developments that I hope for during the coming Rabbit Year. The China House: As we approached…
The U.S. Congress showered attention on Taiwan in mid-September. Headlining was the Senate Committee’s vote to jack-up military assistance under the Taiwan Policy Act. A week later, AmCham loyalists followed Senior Advisor Don Shapiro’s speech at a Taiwan Congressional Caucus-supported launch in Washington of the Taiwan Matters for America / America Matters for Taiwan booklet,…
Two months after U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, Taiwan continues to be a pertinent subject in Washington, DC. Following numerous Taiwan visits by politicians and legislators, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 by a 17-5 vote on September 14. The bill has…
The United States and Taiwan on August 17 announced that talks under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade would begin this fall. The 11 trade areas that will be addressed in the negotiations include trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, anti-corruption, small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), agriculture, standards, labor, environment, state-owned enterprises, nonmarket policies and practices, and…
If there were ever a time and place to reverse the saying “keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” it would be Taiwan, August 2022. As pressure mounts from across the Strait, let’s invite back some four million visitors – sellers, buyers, investors, investment suitors, free-spending tourists, caregivers, activists, and students – between now…
