Press Releases from Presseabteilung Taipeh Vertretung (75 total)
Europe supports Taiwan’s participation in international organizations
The European Parliament expressed that it “strongly supports” Taiwan’s participation as an observer in international organizations and activities such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This statement is part of a resolution on important global issues passed by the legislative body in an overwhelming vote on March 10.
In the resolution, the European Parliament states that it “welcomes the efforts…
Taiwan leads in cross-border patent ownership
The Science Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2009 published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development notes that Taiwan’s cross-border patent ownership rate is the highest in the world, at 52.2 percent. The rate is considerably higher than those for Switzerland, Singapore and South Korea, at 43.9 percent, 30.4 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively. This demonstrates that Taiwan works closely with other nations on technological issues, thus lending itself well…
Taiwan’s government and businesses cooperating to create jobs
With the global economic situation continuing to improve, Taiwan’s government has released its latest economic growth estimates. These predictions put the growth rate for this year at 4.72 percent, an upward revision of 0.33 percent from the previous forecast. Figures released March 8 by the Ministry of Finance show that exports for January and February of this year totaled US$38.44 billion, the second-highest amount ever recorded for the period. Premier…
Taiwan GDP for 2010 revised upward to 4.72 percent
With continued improvement of the global economic situation, Taiwan’s Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) forecast on February 22 that economic growth this year in Taiwan could reach 4.72 percent, up 0.33 percent from its previous forecast. The growth rate for the first through third quarters was also revised higher. According to DGBAS estimates, Taiwan’s real GDP could reach NT$13.43 trillion, and average GNP per capita is expected to…
Reconstruction continues six months after Morakot
Reconstruction continues six months after Morakot
The Executive Yuan on February 8, 2010 held a press conference on “Rebuilding Homes in New Hope,” exactly six months after Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan. The typhoon brought devastating floods that claimed 677 lives, damaged 1,652 houses, and caused incalculable economic losses to the island.
At the press conference, Premier Wu Den-yih announced that the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation had already completed constructing…
Taipei international book fair boasts new exhibitor record
The Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) 2010, which runs from January 27 to February 1 at the Taipei World Trade Center, is hosting exhibitors from nearly 60 countries—a record high for the trade show. One million titles in Chinese and foreign languages will be on display. In addition, around 400 seminars and forums on digital publication and book design, as well as book signings, will be held during the six-day…
Taiwan earns international respect for relief efforts in Haiti
After a devastating earthquake struck Haiti on January 12 and caused severe loss of life and property on the Caribbean island, Taiwan’s official and private organizations immediately joined in disaster relief efforts. To date, five relief and medical teams from Taiwan have already been dispatched to Haiti. The ROC government has also donated US$5 million in aid, and set up a special donation account that has received over US$300,000 in…
Legislature passes Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act
The Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act was approved by the Legislative Yuan on January 7, 2010, seven years after its inception. It offers tax incentives for enterprises purchasing original products or services from local cultural and creative businesses, donating to students or disadvantaged groups, providing assistance in holding cultural and creative activities in remote areas, or investing in related research and development or talent cultivation. Under the new act,…
Friedman: Innovativeness to help Taiwan go far in green revolution
Renowned New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman praised the 23 million people of Taiwan for having accumulated the world’s fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves despite their nation’s lack of natural resources and the high frequency with which they suffer from the effects of natural disasters. Attributing the achievement to the wealth of talent found on the island, Friedman said innovation is the most crucial renewable resource that Taiwan possesses, as…
Bullish uptick for Taiwan’s economy
Indicators have signaled an optimistic turn in Taiwan’s economy. According to the November monitoring index released by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) on December 28, 2009, seven of the components—including customs-cleared exports, manufacturing sales and the industrial production index—flashed the yellow-red light, signaling a heated economic boom, for the first time in 25 months. The boom is expected to maintain intensity during the first half of 2010.
The…
Taiwan seeks World Heritage status for traditional Chinese characters
President Ma Ying-jeou announced on December 26 that he has asked the Executive Yuan to begin the application process for placing traditional Chinese characters on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Speaking at the Ninth International Conference on Chinese Language Teaching organized by the World Chinese Language Association, the president referred to traditional Chinese as the oldest and most beautiful written language in the world.
As the culture with the longest history,…
Human rights act takes effect in Taiwan
On December 12, President Ma Ying-jeou attended the opening ceremony of the Taiwan Human Rights Memorial Park in Taipei City’s Jingmei. On the occasion, the president announced that the Act Governing the Execution of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had become effective two days prior. Passed in March and signed in May, the Act gives these covenants…
Cross-strait ECFA efforts to proceed as scheduled
Addressing concerns on whether policies toward mainland China would be adjusted after a subpar performance for the ruling party in recent local elections, Premier Wu Den-yih expressed on December 7 that the government will always follow policies in line with the principle of “putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people.” As for the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with mainland China, the pact will be pursued as…
Fourth round of Cross-Strait Talks in late December
The fourth round of talks between Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), and Chen Yunlin, chairman of mainland China’s Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), are scheduled to start in late December in the central Taiwan city of Taichung. The two sides expect to sign four agreements on standards, inspection, measurement and certification; quarantine and inspections of agricultural products; double taxation avoidance; and fishery labor…
Taiwan government launches e-book industry development program
At its weekly meeting on December 3, the Cabinet reviewed a report drawn up by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) entitled “Status of Promotion of the Electronic Publishing Industry” and approved its proposal for the government to earmark more than NT$2 billion (US$66 million) over the next five years to promote development of the e-publishing industry.
Premier Wu Den-yih said that amid the trend toward digital convergence, the future holds…
Taiwan resumes positive economic growth in the 4th quarter of 2009
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released its latest economic forecast on November 26 that Taiwan’s economy—after resuming positive growth in the fourth quarter of this year following a downturn of 15 months—is expected to achieve 6.89-percent growth in the last quarter of this year and 8.96-percent in the first quarter of next year. The DGBAS has revised up Taiwan’s projected economic growth for 2010 to 4.39 percent,…
Taiwan continues to promote measures for energy conservation and carbon dioxide …
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7 to December 18, at which time Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) Minister Stephen Shen will meet with European nations’ environment ministers to exchange views and share proposals. President Ma Ying-jeou has expressed that only if Taiwan’s officials are able to attend the conference can the international community learn more about Taiwan’s efforts to reduce energy…
Taiwan to promote internationalized medical care services
Taiwan’s Economic Development Vision for 2015—First-stage Three-Year Sprint Program was undertaken by the Executive Yuan in response to the global trend toward internationalization and industrialization of medical care services and lists the Medical Service Internationalization Flagship Project as a key development priority. In October 2007, the Department of Health (DOH) began planning distribution channels and marketing campaigns targeting the current state of this initiative. The objective is to integrate the…
Taiwan and mainland China ink financial memorandums of understanding
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced November 16 that it had signed three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with mainland China. These MOUs will allow for closer cooperation on supervision of the banking, insurance, and securities and futures sectors. FSC Chairman Sean Chen signed the agreements with the heads of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, transferring the texts via document…
Taiwan - Locally produced flu vaccine made available to the public
Taiwan’s second phase of administering vaccinations against influenza A(H1N1) began on November 16, 2009. A total of 3.91 million people, including elementary school students, preschoolers aged 1 to 6, pregnant women and those who are seriously ill, are eligible for the shots. The Ministry of Education hopes the immunization of all elementary and high school students will be completed before the winter virus peak in December.
In a show of support…
Taiwan begins building permanent housing for Morakot disaster victims at Da-ai P …
On November 15, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Da-ai permanent housing park situated in Kaohsiung County’s Yuemei Farm. Construction of the park area is being aided by the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation for victims of the August 8, 2009 floods. President Ma Ying-jeou, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng and Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing all attended the ceremony.
President Ma in his remarks at the ceremony noted…
Record high investor confidence in Taiwan for second straight quarter
The ING Investor Dashboard Sentiment Index for Asia rose to 143 for the third quarter of 2009, the highest survey score ever, indicating that Asian investors see Asia-Pacific markets leading global economic recovery. Simultaneously, Taiwan investor sentiment reached 153, a new high for the second straight quarter. Indices for 10 categories, including personal wealth, household wealth and return on investment, set new records compared with the 2008 ING survey results.
The…
Taiwan removed from watch list
The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering has removed Taiwan from its list of countries under observation, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has announced on October 18. In response, Taiwan will continue work to improve measures to verify customer identification, safeguard customers’ personal information and check the legality of the source of funds while striving to be placed on the European Union’s money laundering “white list.”
In the 2007 Mutual…
Premier: Taiwan to seek admission to ICAO and world atmospheric measurement orga …
Responding to an interpellation by legislators on September 18 at the Legislative Yuan, Premier Wu Den-yih stated that Taiwan would seek admission to the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The government will ask Taiwan’s diplomatic partners to write letters to the member states of related institutions to help bring this about.
The 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on September…
Taiwan: IP Court Organic Act passes third Legislative Yuan Reading on March 5
On March 5, the IP Court Organic Act passed its third Legislative Yuan Reading. This, along with the IP Case Proceeding Act passed during the Legislative Yuan\'s previous session, means the IP Court is set to commence operation this fall. This greater professionalism will not only elevate the quality IP-related examinations, we can expect more efficiency in all IPR-related lawsuits and remedies, and better rights holder protection-a milestone for IPR…
