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…
US senators introduce bill to encourage high-level visits to Taiwan Six U.S. senators jointly introduced the Taiwan Travel Act on May 5 to encourage visits between the United States and Taiwan at all levels. The draft bill states that Congress believes the U.S. government should allow officials at all levels, including cabinet-level national security officials,…
Taiwan Human Rights Advocate Held in China While on a trip to China, Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che was seized by the authorities on March 19 and held incommunicado before China finally announced that he had been arrested for “activities endangering national security,” according to media reports. As of press time, Lee, an instructor…
Uber Returns to Taiwan Market Two months after hitting pause on its Taiwan operations, Uber is back running in Taipei under a new business model. The popular ride-hailing service surprised the local market announcing it had formed a new partnership with car rental companies. Uber suspended its Taiwan operations on Feb. 10 after incurring fines of up to NT$328.5…
