Both economic and political considerations are behind the move to reduce the island’s dependence on visitors from China. Taiwan is aiming to attract more Muslim visitors from Southeast Asia in a bid to diversify its flagging tourism market, which has suffered from overdependence on China. Once the source of 40% of Taiwan’s 10 million annual…
KMT Stages Comeback in Local Elections The opposition Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) won mayoral seats in three closely watched major constituencies – Kaohsiung, Taichung, and New Taipei City – in local elections held November 24. In Taipei City, incumbent independent Mayor Ko Wen-Je was reelected by a narrow 3,000-vote margin, prompting the runner-up…
A revamped government organization stresses dedication to helping companies solve problems. From early this year, the government agencies dealing with investment matters have been brought together under a new umbrella organization, InvesTaiwan, characterized by a logo featuring a stalk of grain, symbolizing the fertility of Taiwan’s business environment. Three agencies of the Ministry of Economic…
Vice President Chen Received by the Pope Leading a delegation to the Holy See to attend canonization ceremonies for Pope Paul VI and others, Vice President Chen Chien-jen was received by Pope Francis at Castel Gandolfo, the former Papal summer residence. Chen said Pope Francis sent his regards to President Tsai Ing-wen and said he…
Transitional Justice Vice Chair Resigns Vice chairman of the Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) Chang Tien-chin resigned over comments, made at a private meeting that were leaked to the press, in which he proposed using the TJC to smear a candidate in the November elections. The TJC, under the Executive Yuan, is an independent body charged…
The Tsai administration is making an effort to pursue “transitional justice.” Will it be healing or divisive? February 28, 1980 has gone down in Taiwan’s history as the date of one of the nation’s most gruesome unsolved murders. An intruder entered the ground-floor apartment of opposition politician Lin Yi-hsiung and fatally stabbed his mother and…
Tsai Makes 9-Day Trip to Latin America President Tsai Ing-wen departed on August 12 on a trip to Paraguay and Belize, two of the countries with which Taiwan continues to maintain full diplomatic relations, with stopovers in the United States. On her arrival in Los Angeles, Tsai was greeted at the airport by the U.S.-based…
A robust indigenous defense industry would help Taiwan counter China’s unflagging military buildup. In late June, two Chinese destroyers sailed into Taiwan’s territorial waters. They stayed in the Taiwan Strait for nearly a week, coming within 60 nautical miles of Lamay – an island off of Taiwan’s southwestern coast – before sailing onward. It was…
For a variety of reasons, Singapore and Hong Kong can manage just fine with significantly lower tax rates. Over the years, the business community has made the case that Taiwan’s steep personal income-tax rates discourage the recruitment and retention of outstanding skilled professionals, both foreign and local. Often these individuals opt to live and work…
Former KMT Chairman Lien Chan Visits China Former Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan led a party delegation to Beijing in mid-July for a meeting with General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Lien, who served as Vice President during the Lee Teng-hui administration,…
