Following in the wake of Steve Chen's (
Shih Yen-shiang (
"The promotions of Shih and Hsieh were decided after discussions between Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Hsieh, 56, earned a master's degree in economics from National Chengchi University, passed the Ministry of Economic Affairs' foreign representatives' exam in 1977 and has rich experience in foreign trade gleaned from his previous appointments in South Africa, North America and Australia.
Before serving as a vice chairman at the Council for Economic Planning and Development in February 2002, Hsieh was secretary-general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, director of the ministry's Department of International Cooperation, and director of the division of the Bureau of Foreign Trade that handles exchanges with the WTO, APEC, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other international business organizations.
Meanwhile, Preston Chen (陳武雄), chairman of the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI, 全國工業總會) which represents some 70,000 Taiwanese manufacturers, yesterday paid a visit to the ministry and urged the government to help attract overseas-based Taiwanese businessmen to return home while simultaneously easing restrictions on China-bound investment.
Accompanied by several CNFI representatives, Preston Chen submitted a number of proposals to the new minister for his consideration.
Sweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has in the past year upended vaccine recommendations, with the country last month ending its longstanding guidance that all children receive inoculations against flu, hepatitis A and other diseases. The unprecedented changes have led to diminished vaccine usage, hurt the investment case for some biotechs, and created a drag that would likely dent revenues and
Macronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest NOR flash memory supplier, yesterday said it would spend NT$22 billion (US$699.1 million) on capacity expansion this year to increase its production of mid-to-low-density memory chips as the world’s major memorychip suppliers are phasing out the market. The company said its planned capital expenditures are about 11 times higher than the NT$1.8 billion it spent on new facilities and equipment last year. A majority of this year’s outlay would be allocated to step up capacity of multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory chips, which are used in embedded multimedia cards (eMMC), a managed
CULPRITS: Factors that affected the slip included falling global crude oil prices, wait-and-see consumer attitudes due to US tariffs and a different Lunar New Year holiday schedule Taiwan’s retail sales ended a nine-year growth streak last year, slipping 0.2 percent from a year earlier as uncertainty over US tariff policies affected demand for durable goods, data released on Friday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Last year’s retail sales totaled NT$4.84 trillion (US$153.27 billion), down about NT$9.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, from 2024. Despite the decline, the figure was still the second-highest annual sales total on record. Ministry statistics department deputy head Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳) said sales of cars, motorcycles and related products, which accounted for 17.4 percent of total retail rales last year, fell NT$68.1 billion, or
In the wake of strong global demand for AI applications, Taiwan’s export-oriented economy accelerated with the composite index of economic indicators flashing the first “red” light in December for one year, indicating the economy is in booming mode, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Moreover, the index of leading indicators, which gauges the potential state of the economy over the next six months, also moved higher in December amid growing optimism over the outlook, the NDC said. In December, the index of economic indicators rose one point from a month earlier to 38, at the lower end of the “red” light.