economic development – Taiwan Insight

President Lee Teng-hui as a Scholar- A Recollection and Tribute: part I

12 September 2020 samluowei

Written by Frank S.T. Hsiao The year 2000 saw the first peaceful regime change from the long-governing KMT (in power since first coming to Taiwan in 1945) to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). All these were accomplished adroitly without bloodshed. He did not even have his own political clique, military backup and secret service supports. Unquestionably, Lee was indeed one of the greatest politicians in the World. The Taiwanese and foreign media have very well documented all these achievements. What is seldom mentioned is his academic achievements and scholarship in the field of Agricultural Economics and his various writings.

Welfare State System Development in Taiwan: The Causal Determinants of the Past and the Future

20 August 2020 Editor

Written by Christian Aspalter. Taiwan today has a relatively comprehensive welfare state system due to the work of Lee Teng-Hui and millions of Taiwanese. These citizens pushed the very same man to open and safeguard the process of democratisation back in the late 1980s, and to set up the first major system of the Taiwanese welfare state, the universal National Health Insurance, back in 1996. Lee listened to what people wanted, and that means all of the Taiwanese people, not just the elite, the ancient regime of the Kuomintang (KMT) or the business tycoons. Other leaders behaved quite differently.

Does the state of the economy matter when explaining presidential approval ratings in Taiwan?

15 May 2019 Editor

Written by Eric Chen-hua Yu. Empirical studies on presidential approval ratings in the US and other OECD countries have long concluded that the state of the economy is an important factor explaining the rise and fall of presidential approval ratings. Specifically, when economic conditions are good, the sentiment toward the president will be positive. In light of this correlation, does the presidential approval rating in Taiwan follow such a pattern?

Noise pollution in Taiwan in the age of PM2.5

14 March 2018 Editor

Written by Jennifer Hsieh. In the past couple of years, PM2.5, or atmospheric particulate matter, has become a popular buzzword for environmental activism in Taiwan.