Taiwan Weekly is a newsletter released every week by Fair Winds Foundation, Association of Foreign Relations and Taipei Forum that provides coverage and perspectives into the latest developments in Taiwan.
President Tsai Turns Blind Eye to Underworld
The speaker election at the Tainan City Council has been widely reported to pose serious threats to the personal safety of various councilors due to involvement with organized crime syndicates. Councilors affiliated with the Kuomintang (KMT) collectively issued "statements of non-suicide" pressing for protection by the prosecutors.
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This Week in Taiwan 1218-1227
December 18: In the postponed Chiayi mayoral election, the Kuomintang's (KMT) incumbent Huang Min-hui won nearly 60,000 votes, about 63.6 percent of the votes, winning a big victory over Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) challenger Lee Chun-yi. Huang was successfully re-elected and set a record of being elected mayor four times.
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Judicial Independence Should Not Be Trampled by Dirty Politics
During the Hsinchu mayoral election, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) did not want to lose, used all means to attack the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Kao Hung-an but still lost.
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Economy in Peril, But Officials Are All Talk
After the local elections, a series of indicators show that the economy may be approaching downfall.
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TSMC CEO：Export Controls Damage Globalization
Chief Executive Officer CC Wei of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) made a rare warning on December 17 that export controls and banning products from other foreign countries destroy productivity and efficiency gained under globalization, or at least they reduce benefits offered by a free market.
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This Week in Taiwan 1211-1217
December 12: Tiktok, a short-form video platform developed by the Chinese company ByteDance, has become the subject of public discussions on information security. The Ministry of Digital Affairs on December 5 banned the public sector from using it. Legislator Luo Mei-ling stated on December 12 that TikTok can still be browsed from the Internet at the Legislative Yuan and questioned whether executive agencies are synchronized in complying with the new regulations. Responding to interpellation, Secretary-General Lee Meng-yen of the Executive Yuan stated that he will coordinate with the other four branches of government to follow suit. Spokesman Luo Ping-cheng of the Executive Yuan stated that civil servants who violate the ban will be disciplined according to regulations.
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Blessing and "Curse" in Morris Chang's Remarks at Arizona Plant Tool-in Ceremony
At the tool-in ceremony of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) new fab plant at Phoenix, Arizona, on December 6, founder Morris Chang, who has always been skeptical towards this investment, finally gave his blessing to the project in his address.
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Lai's Ultimate Test Will Be Xi
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) saw a major setback in the local elections, and President Tsai Ing-wen's 2024 succession plan has also hit a wall.
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Government's Shifting Blame Make Agricultural and Fishery Businesses Suffer
Mainland China's General Administration of Customs announced the ban on imports of Taiwan's fishery products on December 8, including Pacific sauries and four-finger threadfins, at a total value of NT$6 billion (about US$196 million).
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This Week in Taiwan 1204-1210
December 6: The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) held a tool-in ceremony at its new fab in Arizona. President Joe Biden attended the event and delivered remarks, thanking TSMC for creating 10,000 high-tech jobs and allowing the United States to regain its leading position in global chip manufacturing.
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