Protests in Hong Kong Over Extradition Law In June, mass protests erupted in Hong Kong in opposition to a proposed extradition law that would have allowed accused criminals to be sent to China (as well as Taiwan) for trial. The bill was introduced following the murder of a young woman at the hands of her…
Trade War Sends Q2 to Sluggish Start Normally June is a peak season for exports of electronics items, the bulwark of the Taiwan economy. But the value of export orders received in June fell by 4.5% from the level of the same month last year to come to US$38.5 billion, the eighth straight month to…
EVA Air Strike Causes Heavy Losses The 17-day strike by EVA Air flight attendants that began on June 20 caused the airline nearly US$1 billion in losses. The strike caused some 1,400 flights to be canceled, affecting over 200,000 passengers. The strikers demanded higher wages, EVA agreement to a “no-free ride” policy that would exclude…
U.S., Taiwan Observe 40 Years of the TRA To participate in celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act and establishment of the American Institute in Taiwan, the U.S. sent a delegation to Taiwan led by former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan. The delegation also included Eddie Bernice Johnson,…
Facebook Opens New Office in Taipei American social media giant Facebook in April opened a new Taiwan headquarters in Taipei’s Xinyi District. Dan Neary, vice president of Asia Pacific for Facebook, said his company views Taiwan as an important market and that the new office reflects confidence in Taiwan’s future. He added that Facebook will…
Momentum Slows Two key institutions in April trimmed their forecasts for Taiwan’s GDP growth in 2019, citing falling exports as global demand for consumer electronics slumped amid a prolonged U.S.-China trade war. Standard Chartered Bank cut an earlier GDP forecast of 2.5% to 2.1%, with its chief Taiwan-based economist saying that the first quarter’s 4.2%…
Foxconn Founder Set to Run for President Terry Gou, founder of electronics giant Foxconn Technology Co., in April declared at a temple that Mazu, the goddess of the sea, had recently appeared to him in a dream. “She told me to come out and do something,” he recounted. That something was running for president on the…
Taiwan Wants to Buy F-16 Viper Aircraft Taiwan reportedly submitted formal requests to the U.S. at the end of March to purchase M1 Abrams tanks and 66 F-16V fighter jets. Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration has given tacit approval to the proposed purchase and that President Donald Trump’s advisers had encouraged Taiwan to make…
Foxconn Rejects Microsoft Patent Suit Terry Gou, chairman of the Foxconn Technology Group, which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry, in mid-March responded to a patent infringement lawsuit filed against one of his subsidiaries by Microsoft Corp. He said that as a contract manufacturer, his group has never been required to pay royalties for use…
DPP Retains 2 Seats In By-elections Following the thrashing of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the municipal elections in November at the hands of the Kuomintang (KMT), the DPP managed a slight comeback in by-elections for four vacant seats in mid-March. It retained two seats in electorates in New Taipei City and Tainan…
