U.S. Steel Tariffs Hit Taiwan Taiwan sent a delegation to the United States on March 18 with the goal of negotiating an exemption to the steep tariff hike on imported steel and aluminum imposed by President Donald Trump. On March 8, Trump signed an order imposing a 25% tariff on imported steel and 10% on aluminum….
POSITIVE END TO 2017 Taiwan and the world finished 2017 on a good note – with the expectation of more good news in 2018. The Taiwan economy ended the year by recording its strongest growth level in years, on the back of record-high exports. Momentum is likely to continue into 2019, with leading indicators all…
The conviction of a Chinese student for spying and allegations of self-censorship by universities are provoking heated debate about cross-Strait educational exchanges. In September, a former Chinese student in Taiwan was convicted of spying for the People’s Republic of China and sentenced to 14 months in prison. Zhou Hongxu, a native of Liaoning Province, allegedly…
Participants and the organizer were impressed with the warm reception and efficient organization they found here. Taiwan excels in hospitality, as anyone who has visited or lived in the country knows. Being a good host to guests from abroad, whether they’re Taroko-bound tourists or delegates to a biotech conference, seems to be hard-wired into the…
Sing! China Event Ends in Violence A singing event staged at National Taiwan University (NTU) in cooperation with the Taipei City and Shanghai governments and the popular Chinese talent show Sing! China was abruptly cut short as protests degenerated into violence on September 25. The protests were sparked by anger over damage to NTU’s track and…
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…
Reversing a long-running brain drain will be an important step on the path to economic revival. James Grigbsy has spent the majority of his professional career in Taiwan. He worked as a consultant here for two decades, including 15 years as an executive with Getchee (originally known as Pacific GeoPro), a location intelligence firm that…
FDI in Taiwan Slashed, Investment from China Mixed Applications by foreign companies to invest in Taiwan in the first five months of the year was down 6% on the same time a year ago, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The ministry’s Investment Commission says 1,260 foreign direct investment (FDI)…
Panama Switches Allegiance from Taiwan to China Panama President Juan Carlos Varela announced on Monday that the Republic of Panama had severed ties with Taiwan and had established diplomatic relations with China instead. Panama and China announced that Panama now “recognizes that there is only one China in the world” and that Taiwan is part of Chinese…
The government is seeking to strengthen trade, investment, tourism, education, and cultural relations with South and Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia may be close to Taiwan geographically, but Taiwanese traditionally tended to see its people as little more than a source of cheap labor. Even in academia, says Edwin Yang, an instructor in the College of…
