William Lai Succeeds Lin Chuan As Premier Two-term Tainan Mayor William Lai (Lai Ching-te), considered one of the rising stars in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was appointed to the premiership in early September. Lai, who turns 58 next month, holds a master’s in public health from Harvard and previously served as a member of…
Taiwan has created several new programs that offer promising opportunities for application developers. It is estimated that by 2050, over 70% of the global population will live in cities, including at least 29 “megacities” with populations exceeding 10 million people. Surging urban populations will increase challenges with regard to transportation, security, pollution, healthcare, and other…
A delegation comprised of Taoyuan City Government officials, China Airlines Chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan, and Taoyuan International Airport Corporation President and CEO Shiau Deng-ke, led by Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, visited the United States from July 4 to July 15 on the “2017 Taoyuan City Trade Delegation to the West Coast USA.” A total of 40…
The 2017 AmCham Taipei “Doorknock” mission encounters a hard line on trade issues. Early on in the five-day AmCham Taipei “Doorknock” visit to Washington D.C. in late June, the delegation became starkly aware of just how much the operating style of the U.S. government has changed under the Trump administration. Even career government officials who…
Some items are making progress, but none have yet been entirely resolved. The December issue of Taiwan Business TOPICS – coming at the half-way point between publication of editions of AmCham Taipei’s Taiwan White Paper – is an opportune time to evaluate the progress made so far in dealing with the issues raised in the…
Vice President Chen visits Taiwan’s diplomatic allies Vice President Chen Chien-jen visited Taiwan’s diplomatic ally, the Dominican Republic, from August 14 to 17 to attend the inauguration of President Danilo Medina and hold meetings with Medina to exchange views on future bilateral cooperation. Chen also met with Taiwanese business owners in the country. Shortly after…
Meet the New Cabinet With the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen on May 20, a new cabinet takes office. Below are some of the key players likely to be involved in areas of particular interest to the business community. Premier Lin Chuan Minister of Finance from the end of 2002 to the beginning of 2006,…
The restructuring program has been given two more years for completion by the new legislature. The eighth Legislative Yuan ended its four-year term in December without completing action on the entire government restructuring program it set out to undertake with passage of an umbrella law in 2010. The program, intended to streamline the executive branch…
Tainan mayor William Lai ended his 234-day boycott of the Tainan City Council to give policy remarks as the city addresses a dengue fever outbreak that has sickened 2,500 people and killed four. Lai, who belongs to the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), had boycotted the council meetings to protest what he deemed the mishandling…
The deadline for completion of the reorganization plan has been extended to the end of this year. Under the original schedule, a plan for extensive restructuring of the government’s executive branch – reducing the number of cabinet-level agencies from 37 to 29 and enhancing efficiency by bringing related functions under the same ministry – was…
