Former Premier Hau Pei-Tsun Dies Former Premier Hau Pei-tsun passed away at the age of 100 at the end of March. As a young military officer, Hau had fought in the Chinese Civil War, and as an army commander stationed on Kinmen had been in charge of its defenses during a landmark 44-day bombardment of…
Ban on Official Use of Zoom The Executive Yuan in April made Taiwan one of the first countries to prohibit use of popular videoconferencing software Zoom for official government communication. In many government agencies, officials are increasingly working from home owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they will no longer be allowed to use the…
President Tsai’s Pandemic Diplomacy In early April, President Tsai Ing-wen announced a new diplomatic initiative in an attempt to turn Taiwan’s success in battling the coronavirus into a geopolitical win, despite China’s efforts to isolate Taiwan politically. Noting that Taiwan had transformed from being an importer of facemasks to the world’s second largest producer, she…
Is the IMF being too negative? In the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook for April, Taiwan’s GDP forecast for 2020 was set at a horrendous -4%, a figure that government officials are doing their best to refute. The National Development Council is arguing that the IMF did not have full knowledge of Taiwan’s economy…
Taiwan’s COVID-19 Response Applauded There has been a flood of positive media coverage regarding Taiwan’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic over the past month. Reports have emphasized the government’s early action to contain the virus, citing its previous experience with SARS and the information it began receiving from China in late 2019 as the main reasons…
Airlines Cope with COVID-19 Shocks Taiwan’s airlines have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Border controls in both Taiwan and in other countries throughout the world have stiffened, and demand for air travel has dropped sharply. As a result, local carriers EVA and China Airlines and their subsidiaries have been forced to completely cancel…
Johnny Chiang Takes KMT Chair Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Johnny Chiang on March 7 was elected as party chair, winning the chairperson by-election handily against his sole opponent, former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin. Chiang, who is 47, represents the younger generation of KMT leadership. During his campaign, he promised major reforms aimed at modernizing the party and…
EXPORTS UP, BUT NOT FOR LONG Taiwan is moving into wartime economy territory, with the government and industry working together to boost production of key items such as medical masks and alcohol-based sanitizer. After a panic run on amenities following a large jump in confirmed cases in March, several local companies pledged to increase production of toilet…
Yu Shyi-kun Elected Legislative Speaker Former Premier Yu Shyi-kun, a newly elected Democratic Progressive Party legislator-at-large, was elected Speaker of the Legislative Yuan on February 1. He succeeds two-term Speaker Su Jia-Chyuan, who decided not to run again after his wife, Hung Heng-chu, announced her bid for legislator representing Pingtung County on the DPP ticket…
VP-Elect Lai Makes U.S. Visit When Vice President-elect William Lai visited the U.S. in early February, the highlight of the trip was his attendance at the invitation-only National Prayer Breakfast, an event that was also attended by President Trump. Although Lai stressed that his trip was made in a personal capacity, he is the highest-ranking…
