South East Asia – Taiwan Insight

How Taiwan Wins the Hearts of Southeast Asian States

6 August 2020 Editor

Written by Ratih Kabinawa and Jie Chen. President Lee Teng-hui transformed ROC Taiwan’s foreign policy from a rigid “man and bandits don’t co-exist” mindset, a dictum which defined the Chiangs’ era, to one focusing on pragmatic diplomacy. This stance emphasised flexible ways to promote Taiwan’s international standing as its own legitimate sovereign state. President Lee used Taiwan’s achievement as a new democracy with impressive economic and technological prowess to win fresh international sympathy and support.

Prospect of Malaysia as the Gateway for Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP) Push

23 July 2020 Editor

Written by Karl Chee Leong Lee. Despite lingering pessimism surrounding the impact of COVID-19 on Southeast Asia’s economy, Malaysia has unexpectedly enjoyed a new wave of Taiwanese investment. According to official figures released by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) last April, the value of inbound manufacturing-based investment from Taiwan has increased seven-fold. In 2019 Taiwan became the fourth largest FDI source for Malaysia’s manufacturing sector after China, the US and Singapore.

Taiwan’s Presidential Election: the View from Southeast Asia

8 January 2020 Editor

Written by Ratih Kabinawa. Taiwan’s presidential election is just around the corner and the entire world is watching this highly contested democratic event that will determine not only Taiwan’s domestic politics but also foreign affairs direction. While the presidential debates mainly covered the future of cross-Strait relations with Beijing, little attention is given to Taiwan’s relations with countries in Southeast Asia. How will the result of the presidential election affect Taiwan’s engagement with Southeast Asian countries?

TAIWAN AND ASIA’S YOUNGER GENERATIONS: INSIGHTS FROM THE YUSHAN FORUM

29 November 2019 Editor

Written by Yuri Baral. At the time of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy’s (NSP) inception, the core focus was on the value of cooperating with neighbors to better exploit each partners’ respective comparative advantages… Initial discussions aimed at defining the scope and goals of the policy did not explicitly mention a new platform for engaging with youths in Asia.

WHY TAIWAN’S NEW SOUTHBOUND POLICY SHOULD STEER CLEAR OF AMERICAN GEOPOLITIK

27 November 2019 Editor

Written by Corey Bell.
The 2019 Yushan Forum, hosted earlier this month by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, lived up to its hype as a major forum on Asian trade and security. In a major coup, this year’s programme succeeded in attracting a number of prominent speakers, including Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, who delivered the event’s opening address, her Vice President Chen Chien-jen, India’s former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon, and Sandra Oudkirk, the U.S. State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

THE YUSHAN FORUM: DEMONSTRATING TAIWAN’S FLEXIBLE APPROACH TO PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN ASIAN DEVELOPMENT

26 November 2019 Editor

Written by Alan H. Yang and Ding-Liang Chen. Taiwan has lost several of its diplomatic allies in recent years. These setbacks have prompted Taiwan’s government to devise new approaches to improving its international presence and foreign relations strategy.

Building International Labour Solidarity in Taipei

16 October 2019 Editor

Written by Kevin Lin. In mid-August 2018, over 250 labour activists from more than a dozen countries across Asia spent three days in Taipei at the first Labour Notes regional conference. The gathering was meant to highlight the serious labour organising in Asia and discuss the ways forward. It was a unique occasion in many ways.

Homecoming: Puppeteering Diasporic Identities Through Humanity and the Non-human

13 September 2019 Editor

Written by Chee-Hann Wu. Homecoming 微塵望鄉 is a 2017 production by Puppet & Its Double Theater 無獨有偶工作室劇團 featuring Lily 馬莉莉, daughter of veteran father and immigrant mother, and Paochi (寶枝), Vietnamese caregiver who takes care of Lily’s dementia inflicted farther.

Contested Southeast Asia and Taiwan’s Objectives

15 August 2019 Editor

Written by Josie-Marie Perkuhn. Southeast Asia (SEA) is one of the foremost target regions of President Tsai Ing-wen’s New Southbound Policy (NSP). The NSP seeks to guarantee Taiwan’s trade prospects and stabilise the Republic of China’s status through economic and people-to-people integration.

Spoken at Home and in the Market: The Shifting Perceptions towards Southeast Asian Languages in Taiwan

13 May 2019 Editor

Written by Isabelle Cheng. The New Southbound Policy (NSP) envisaged a joint force between the government and the private sector for forging ‘strategic partnerships’ with 18 states in Southeast and South Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Although being global-minded and aspiring to regional leadership, the NSP also entertained its domestic audience by promising to deliver the benefits of globalisation at home. A tool for realising this goal is the government’s authorisation of public funds for teaching of Southeast Asian languages

Exploring Migration Experiences of Young Taiwanese Migrant Workers in Singapore’s Service Industry Sector

6 May 2019 Editor

Written by Chia-Yuan Huang. Unlike the so-called Taiwanese ‘elites’ or ‘talents’ who were headhunted by Singaporean companies with the highest-level employment pass, a number of recently-migrated young Taiwanese workers in Singapore are engaged in the service industry. Most work on a contractual basis, dispatched by an agency and hold the lowest-level work pass (hereafter WP), which has many restrictions.

Taiwan’s Cultural Plurality and Immigration Policy

9 February 2019 Editor

Written by Ji-ping Lin. Much like many countries, Taiwan has a long historical tradition of migration, including internal and international. Taiwan’s early developments were

1 2 »