Headline News
President Tsai thanks European Parliament for support
President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her appreciation to the European Parliament (EP) for passing a report calling for an end to Chinese military provocation of Taiwan.
In its report on the state of European Union-China relations adopted last week, the EP calls for the EU and its member states to do their utmost to urge Beijing to refrain from further military provocation towards Taiwan and endangering peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
The EP emphasizes that all cross-strait disputes should be settled by peaceful means based on international law and calls for the resumption of official dialog between the two sides. It also reiterates its support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations and states that Taiwan’s continued exclusion is not in line with EU interests.
Taiwan to host Oslo Freedom Forum
The 10th annual Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF), a global human rights conference, will be held in Taipei in November this year, the first time ever in an Asian country. The conference will be attended by rights campaigners, dissidents, academics, philanthropists, tech entrepreneurs, policy experts, media representatives, artists and others.
Taiwan was selected by the New York based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) as the host, because of its role as a regional leader in democracy and human rights.
Economy & Society
BERI: Taiwan 3rd best investment destination
BERI (Business Environment Risk Intelligence), an American-based business analysis and rating service provider, ranked Taiwan as the third best investment destination of 50 major economies surveyed, only behind Switzerland and Singapore.
In terms of political risk, Taiwan was rated 13th worldwide and 6th in Asia.
Taiwan also emerged as the world’s safest place to invest in terms of foreign exchange/external accounts risk and ranked 6th in the world and 1st in Asia in operations risk.
Taiwan companies report investment loss in China
About half of the 1,275 companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and Taipei Exchange (TPEX) reported losses from investing in China in the first half of 2018.
Fewer and fewer companies report gains from investing in Chinese companies over the 10-year period from 2008 to the first half of 2018.
The cumulated capital export for foreign direct investment from TWSE and TPEX-listed companies to China reached US$74.8 billion.
TSMC world’s 4th largest IC supplier
Market information advisory firm,
IC Insights, ranked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) the 4th largest integrated circuit supplier in the world with sales of US$16.31 billion in the first half of 2018.
Another Taiwan company, MediaTek Inc., was ranked 15th with sales of US$3.73 billion in the first half of 2018.
Dutch missionary commemorated
Mayor Arnoud Rodenburg, Alderman Wendy Renzen, Ambassador Tom Chou, Artist Marcel Koeleman, and Historian Jacques Moerman at the unveiling of the monument commemorating Reverend Antonius Hambrouck in Schipluiden, the city he served before travelling to Taiwan (Formosa) in 1647.
Ambassador Tom Chou referred in his speech to the dedication to humanity and Christianity by Reverend Hambrouck in the 17th century as part of history connecting Taiwan and the Netherlands.
Dutch priest honored
Anthony Pierrot, a Roman Catholic priest from The Netherlands, was named an honorary citizen of Yunlin County for his contributions to the county for over 60 years.
Pierrot (96) supported the promotion of healthcare and made significant contributions to Yunlin since his arrival in Taiwan in 1954. He co-founded the St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he still works, and set up the St. Joseph Social Welfare Foundation caring for Taiwan’s needy, despite his advanced age.
