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 U.S. and Taiwan have broad common ground for cooperation and collaboration. A one-day U.S.-Taiwan “Digital Economy Forum” held in Taipei in early December provided delegations from the two governments with an opportunity to exchange views on approaches to promoting and regulating the Internet economy, as well as on identifying potential areas of bilateral cooperation….
Teen Singer Waves Flag, Angers China The presidential campaign of Tsai Ing-wen got an unexpected boost when it was revealed that China was picking on little girls. Chou Tzu-yu, a 16-year-old member of the Korean pop band Twice, raised the ire of Chinese nationalists, who called her a Taiwan independence supporter when images of her…
Following Bloomberg’s relegation of Taiwan to its inglorious Recession Club for 2016, along with economic disappointments Ukraine, Russia, and Brazil, Deputy Minister Kao Shien-quey of the National Development Council sought to reassure the public that “this year should not be so bad.” She said she sees the economy as likely to bottom out in the…
The government is working on introducing a Regulatory Impact Analysis manual. In AmCham Taipei’s experience, many of the regulatory problems that business operations face in Taiwan – including a large number of the issues that find their way into the Chamber’s annual Taiwan White Paper – could have been avoided through more rigorous analysis by…
Government procurement can play a key role in developing Taiwan’s software market. Taiwan has excelled at the development of information-technology (IT) hardware, in part due to the financial and other assistance provided by the government over the past two decades. But support on the same scale has not been extended to companies on the software…
In the face of declining exports and diminished economic growth, the Executive Yuan announced on August 20 that it was raising the number of Chinese tourists granted Free Independent Travel (FIT) visas by 1,000 per day for a new daily total of 5,000. Raising the number of Chinese allowed to travel under the FIT program…
Economist John Anderson observed at a recent AmCham luncheon that the Taiwan economy in recent years has been a rather lackluster performer compared with regional peers, but on the other has avoided many of the financial problems besetting its neighbors, such as unsustainable credit booms and sharp currency depreciations, and delivers solid if unremarkable economic…
Minister of National Defense Yen Ming resigned January 27, citing personal and professional reasons. He was replaced by Chief of the General Staff Kao Kuang-chi, who had previously briefly held the position of acting Defense Minister in August, 2013. Two days later, Premier Mao Chi-kuo also accepted the resignation of Minister of the National Development…
