Taiwan’s COVID-19 Response Applauded There has been a flood of positive media coverage regarding Taiwan’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic over the past month. Reports have emphasized the government’s early action to contain the virus, citing its previous experience with SARS and the information it began receiving from China in late 2019 as the main reasons…
In the fall of 2007, Taiwan Business TOPICS invited 14 experts to offer their thoughts on “what Taiwan should aim to be like” in their areas of expertise by the year 2020, and how to achieve those goals. Their views were published in the November 2007 edition of TOPICS under the heading “Vision 2020.” With 2020 now upon us, TOPICS sought to re-engage with the…
When Taiwan’s Vice President Chen Chien-jen began hearing initial whispers in late 2019 about a new respiratory illness spreading in Central China, the Johns Hopkins University-trained epidemiologist had a déjà vu moment. “I thought, oh wow, SARS has returned!” he told Taiwan Business TOPICS in an interview. But he said he felt confident that if…
I have never felt prouder of Taiwan. The way the country – both the people and government – have dealt with the ongoing coronavirus crisis has been incredibly impressive. The public has been relatively calm and brave. The officials have been transparent, proactive, and professional. Indeed, so far Taiwan’s response to the outbreak has been…
VP-Elect Lai Makes U.S. Visit When Vice President-elect William Lai visited the U.S. in early February, the highlight of the trip was his attendance at the invitation-only National Prayer Breakfast, an event that was also attended by President Trump. Although Lai stressed that his trip was made in a personal capacity, he is the highest-ranking…
Landslide Electoral Win for President Tsai Incumbent presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on January 11 won a landslide victory against her Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) opponent, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu, defeating him by almost 20 percentage points. Tsai, who garnered a record-breaking 8.17 million votes (57.13%), in her victory speech…
A dispute between Taipower and New Taipei City over interim spent-fuel storage is complicating the shuttering of nuclear power plants. After the second reactor of the Chinshan nuclear power plant reached the end of its 40-year licensing period last July, the plant became the first of Taiwan’s three nuclear power facilities to enter the stage…
The recently concluded 9th Term of the Legislative Yuan was the first time the Democratic Progressive Party held majority control of the lawmaking body and thus also the first time that the DPP controlled both the legislature and the executive branch. What was the result in terms of legislative performance? Of the 6,252 bills proposed…
Chinese Defector Makes Espionage Claims Australian media on November 23 reported that a man claiming to be a former Chinese intelligence agent had defected to Australian authorities in October, requesting asylum there. Wang Liqiang, 23, whose wife and young child currently live in Australia, claims to have taken part in several espionage activities. These include…
Left with just 15 diplomatic allies, Taiwan now looks to safeguard its most vital remaining relationships while strengthening unofficial ties with key democracies. Since the election of President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, China has stepped up efforts to curtail Taiwan’s international space. Luring away Taiwan’s diplomatic allies has been integral to this campaign. In September,…
