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…
The current coronavirus crisis has injected new urgency into a longstanding issue: Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization and its annual World Health Assembly. Pressure from Beijing designed to isolate Taiwan within the global community has kept Taiwan from participating in scores of international organizations, including all those affiliated with the United Nations. But…
As China’s industrial centers remain in a state of uncertainty due to coronavirus fears, Taiwanese and international companies that have come to rely on the PRC as a production base are now seeking alternative solutions while trying to maintain continuity of operations back home. When discussing the business and economic implications for Taiwan of the…
The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 brings numerous potential and actual legal risks, ranging from the supply chain to human resource matters. Following the declaration by the World Health Organization (where Taiwan unfortunately has neither membership nor observer status) of a public health emergency at the end of January, businesses need to take precautions regarding affected…
5G AUCTION EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS Taiwan has completed both phases of its 5G spectrum auction, raising a total of NT$142.19 billion (US$4.7 billion), the third-highest amount worldwide behind Germany and Italy. The first phase of the auction, which took place between December 10 and January 16 and involved 261 rounds, offered 270 MHz in the 3.5GHz…
COVID-19 AROUSES FEAR, CAUTION Markets around the world have begun tumbling due to coronavirus fears, and a “black swan” recession looks possible in some economies. The Taiwan Stock Exchange has not been insulated from the shocks, with weighted shares plunging 220 points, or 2%, in late February. The outlook for a quick recovery does not look promising, as…
When the Japanese conducted the first comprehensive topographical survey of Taiwan, shortly after seizing control of the island in 1895, they were stunned to discover that their new colony had at least three mountains higher than their own beloved Mount Fuji. The island’s tallest point was given the Japanese name Niitakayama (“New Highest Mountain”), and…
2019 Ends Well for Taiwan Economy Prior to the recent national elections, Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan compiled and analyzed economic data that spanned the terms of all of Taiwan’s democratically elected presidents. His January 8 op-ed, titled “A Taiwanese Election That’s Not All About China,” argued that economic considerations, rather than just cross-Strait relations, would…
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…
