This is Part 3 of the Special Report on Public Safety: Links to Part 1, Part2, Part 4, Part 5 From as far afield as Africa, fraud rings made up of criminals from both sides of the Taiwan Strait are fleecing victims. On a balmy night in August 2014, this reporter hailed a cab in downtown Taipei. As…
This is Part 1 of the Special Report on Public Safety: Links to Part2, Part 3,Part 4, Part 5 Taiwanese and foreigners alike appreciate the low crime rates on the island. With its splendid scenery, iconic Taipei 101 building, vibrant night markets, and many other attractions, Taiwan has much to offer visitors. What should also be added is…
Taiwan is redoubling efforts to halt the spread of dengue fever, which has hit the southern part of the island hard over the past two years. Growing global concern about the Zika virus has led to intensified efforts to combat the white-speckled Aedes aegypti mosquito that also transmits dengue fever, a disease that has ravaged…
On February 11, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. As her report provides a clear appraisal of the current state of U.S.-Taiwan relations, TOPICS reprints her remarks below for readers’ reference. Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee for…
In appreciation for his longstanding participation in AmCham Taipei, the Chamber’s Board of Governors has voted to present E.F. (Ephraim Ferdinand) Einhorn with a Lifetime Honorary Membership. Einhorn, who refers to himself as “97 years young,” is a man of a rare combination of talents, including businessman, scholar, rabbi, linguist, and practitioner of private diplomacy….
Major advances have taken place in the sector in just the past few decades. The opening of the National Palace Museum Southern Branch in December last year brought President Ma Ying-jeou and a host of other dignitaries to Taiwan’s southwestern city of Chiayi, in a celebration of Asian culture. Aboriginal singers and a dragon dance…
One is high culture, the other grassroots. But the architecture of both Kris Yao and Huang Sheng-yuan represents the emergence of an original Taiwan sensibility. Kris Yao Artech “One thing that is very important in architecture is locality. The design of any piece of architecture can only stand on one certain spot on the…
The victory of the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen in mid-January’s presidential election was no surprise; she had been leading in opinion polls for months. More unexpected was the scale of the triumph – and that of the DPP candidates in the legislative contests. Not only did Tsai win 56.1% of the vote in a…
Green civic organizations are making next January’s legislative elections their next battlefield. Taiwan’s environmental movement is entering a new phase of more direct political activism. On September 21, the Green Party-Social Democratic Party (SDP) Alliance announced that it would field six candidates in next January’s legislative elections, including Green Party Taiwan co-convener Lee Ken-cheng. The…
The Taiwan insurance sector’s long-term sustainability – and its ability to maintain the confidence of the public whose financial welfare it serves – depends on the degree of discipline exercised by both insurers and regulators in ensuring proper risk management. That discipline has already been tested several times in recent years when domestic life insurance…
