Who will take up the baton from the current generation of Taiwan’s corporate leaders? Corporate succession is a sensitive topic in Taiwan, where many top business leaders take on larger-than-life roles in their firms, often opting to continue working well into their eighties. Strong family and personal connections often complicate the transfer of company leadership….
Computex, Taiwan’s premier trade show and one of the world’s largest computer technology exhibitions, celebrated its 37th anniversary this year. But when asked by a reporter at the closing press conference whether Computex is struggling to keep up with new upstart technology expos such as CES Asia in Shanghai and CommunicaAsia in Singapore, Walter Yeh,…
When I arrived in a vibrant Taipei at the end of 1990, the young professionals I met were upwardly mobile and full of hope. Learning English was all the rage, and they diligently studied English in their spare time. Since arriving in Taiwan, I have been a teacher, trainer, coach, and consultant. These jobs have…
A vast plot of land once covered by wharves and warehouses is set to become the city’s new cultural and entertainment center. Visitors to the site can see the steel-beam skeleton of the Kaohsiung Music Center’s main concert building rising on the wharf just off the Wu Fu Road Bridge, but for now the construction…
The Taiwanese eat out frequently, and when times are tough, they may look for lower-priced options. Lin Jiayu needed money to pay off his debts. Shortly after he invested in the elevator industry, the economy in Taiwan took a turn for the worse, and Lin suffered a large financial loss. As he contemplated how to…
The Tsai Ing-wen government has included this sector among its five priority industries. To meet the growing global demand for smart automated manufacturing equipment in line with what has been dubbed “Industry 4.0,” Taiwan’s machinery companies are scrambling to turn out smart models by incorporating advanced information technology into their products. The outlook for…
The growing market for larger vessels and the emergence of domestic demand offer hope for the industry. Taiwan has long been an important producer of yachts and sailboats, though it is only recently that recreational boating has finally begun to catch on. One in every three new yachts sold in the United States between 1977…
Taiwan is now a mecca not just for bicycle importers but for enthusiasts as well. “Ni Fengle!” (You’re crazy!) I remember fondly those words, spoken by my Taiwanese landlady Ms. Yeh on hearing my plan to cycle to Taipei from our shared home in Shuangshi, a small town on the outskirts of the Hsinchu Science…
E-sports have become mass market and big business, but can Taiwan leverage its advantages to make the most of the opportunities? The arena’s star performers were bathed in laser lights as the music pumped and their ardent fans cheered them on, caught up in the thrill of competition. Big bucks were at stake. It had…
Ten strategic sectors have been identified as having the best potential for selling system integration solutions to overseas markets. The Taiwanese economy limped along in 2015 as an export slump pushed GDP growth down to an estimated 1%. That anemic performance was Taiwan’s worst since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, when the economy went…
