Shelley Rigger’s latest book describes the role Taiwanese businesspeople played in facilitating China’s rapid economic growth in the 1990s and 2000s. It provides astute analysis and vivid historical detail, but readers should not expect a forecast of what lies ahead for cross-Strait ties. As a leading scholar on Taiwan, Davidson College political science professor Shelley Rigger has shown an impressive grasp…
By Dexter Murray and Aimee Wu Taiwan to Ease Border Restrictions As the latest domestic outbreaks of the COVID-19 Omicron variant are largely under control and vaccination rates are high, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has announced plans to gradually reopen Taiwan’s borders. From March 7, the quarantine period for international travelers entering Taiwan…
By Julia Bergström All Questions Rejected in December Referendum Taiwan voters on December 18 narrowly rejected all four referendum questions posed to them, issues regarding restarting a nuclear power plant project, banning U.S. pork imports containing a certain feed additive, conserving algal reefs near a proposed natural gas receiving terminal, and holding future referendums in conjunction…
Nicaragua Severs Ties with Taiwan Nicaragua ended official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in December, stating that it “recognizes that there is only one single China.” It was the eighth country to sever ties with Taiwan since 2016, leaving the island with only 14 diplomatic partners. The break in relations comes as the U.S. and countries…
Migrant Worker Entry Ban Lifted The Ministry of Labor (MOL) granted Indonesian migrant workers entry to Taiwan in November, ending an entry ban that had been in place since December 2020. The MOL indicated that Thailand will likely be the next country exempted from the ban, followed by Vietnam and the Philippines. According to the…
Wage Hike For Public Workers Approved The Executive Yuan in late October approved a nearly 4% wage hike for public workers, to take effect in 2022. The hike marks the biggest increase in government salary levels in over two decades, and will apply to civil servants, teachers, and military personnel. The salary adjustment comes as the…
Chu Wins KMT Chair Election Former New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu won the Chinese Nationalist (KMT) party chairperson election, held on September 25, with 45.78% of the vote. Chu’s major rivals were party-affiliated NGO Sun Yat-sen School President Chang Ya-chung, who received 32.59%, and incumbent Johnny Chiang, a legislator and self-styled reformer who came…
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…
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…
High Court Supports Marriage Equality In a landmark ruling on May 24 that made headlines around the world, Taiwan’s Council of Grand Justices found that Taiwan’s Civil Code violated constitutional rights of freedom of marriage and equality by defining marriage only as an agreement between a man and a woman. The court instructed the government…
