Consideration of the economic outlook for 2016 also has to take the upcoming presidential and legislative elections into account. President Ma Ying-jeou was elected in 2008 on a platform of reinvigorating Taiwan’s economy and cooling tensions in the Taiwan Strait through unprecedented cross-Strait trade agreements. But after his reelection in 2012, public confidence in the…

Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu announced a temporary halt to campaign activities on September 2. The announcement made on Facebook seemed to catch KMT headquarters offguard and fueled speculation that Hung was withdrawing from the race. Media pundits also suggested that her sudden seclusion allowed her to avoid embarrassing questions over visits by several…