Headline News
EU supports Taiwan’s role on world stage
EU Representative to Taiwan, Madeleine Majorenko, said that the European Union continues to support Taiwan's participation in international fora in which the country can contribute and hopes that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will refrain from taking action that will intensify regional tension.
Majorenko responded when asked to comment on China's recent ramped-up efforts to squeeze Taiwan diplomatically in an interview with CNA and added that the EU strongly believes that "Taiwan should be able to play a useful part in the international community."
The EU Representative also said that the EU remains committed to signing a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) with Taiwan but that it must still complete the "preparatory."
The EU remains the largest investor in Taiwan with current stock in foreign direct investment of €44.67 billion.
Diplomatic ties with El Salvador terminated
The Republic of China (Taiwan) has terminated diplomatic relations with the Republic of El Salvador with immediate effect per August 21 and will end all cooperation and assistance projects with El Salvador.
The government of El Salvador had repeatedly demanded large amounts of funds from Taiwan for the development of the Port La Union in the eastern part of the country. An overall assessment from an engineering team from Taiwan reached the conclusion that the project could lead to tremendous debt risks for both Taiwan and El Salvador. As a responsible government, Taiwan could not pledge support to the government of El Salvador for the Port La Union initiative.
Taiwan could also not agree to requests from the Salvadorian ruling party soliciting Taiwan’s help in raising campaign funds in view of the presidential election in February 2019, as it runs contrary to democratic principles.
In addition, Taiwan considers it irresponsible to engage in dollar diplomacy to compete with China for allies, or even make illegal political donations. The government of Taiwan will not and cannot go down this path, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release.
Economy & Culture
Taiwan ranked as 5th largest lender worldwide
Taiwan ranked the world's fifth largest lender in 2017 as its net international investment position rose more than 6 percent from a year earlier, according to Taiwan’s Central Bank.
The total assets held by Taiwan totaled US$1.983 trillion in 2017, up US$193.4 billion from a year earlier. The total liabilities shouldered by Taiwan rose US$119.3 billion from a year earlier to US$801.8 billion.
The figures translated into a net international investment position of US$1.18 trillion, up US$74.09 billion from a year earlier. It was the highest net international investment position in Taiwan's history and the fifth highest in the world in 2017.
The top ten largest lenders in the world in 2017 are Germany, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
Economic growth for 2018 raised to 2.69%
A stronger-than-expected performance of Taiwan’s economy during the first half of 2018 is behind the decision by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) to raise its growth prediction for 2018 to 2.69%.
The DGBAS is however predicting a slight decline in economic growth to 2.55% for 2019.
Under the Horizon
Under the Horizon is the breathtaking result of a five-year long collaboration between Huang Yi, one of Asia’s most critically acclaimed choreographers from Taiwan, celebrated audiovisual artist Ryoichi Kurokawa from Japan and the sixteen singers of het Nederlands Kamerkoor, who masterfully weave the purity of the human voice into the performance. It will take you into a shadowy world where precious memories come to life.
Under the Horizon is a coproduction of Huang Yi Studio +, Nederlands Kamerkoor and the Taipei Performing Arts Center. More info:
