Speaking at AmCham Taipei’s 50th annual Hsieh Nien Fan banquet at the Grand Hyatt on March 21, Alex Wong, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, staunchly reaffirmed American government support for Taiwan. Stating that “the United States has been, is, and always will be Taiwan’s closest friend and partner,” Wong said “the…

THE ECONOMIC NEWS IS MOSTLY POSITIVE On November 17 economist Chen Shin-hui, assistant research fellow at the Center for Economic Forecasting, part of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), offered a lively presentation and discussion on the state of Taiwan’s and the world’s economy. As the compiler of CIER’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a monthly…

The 2017 AmCham Taipei “Doorknock” mission encounters a hard line on trade issues. Early on in the five-day AmCham Taipei “Doorknock” visit to Washington D.C. in late June, the delegation became starkly aware of just how much the operating style of the U.S. government has changed under the Trump administration. Even career government officials who…

Panama Cuts Ties With Taiwan Panama switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, the latest in a series of developments that further isolate Taiwan on the global stage. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela cited “economic interests” as the incentive to sever the diplomatic ties. In response, Taiwan plans to halt all bilateral cooperative projects and…

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,…