Taiwan is the world's most competitive economy after the US and Finland, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a report Tuesday.
Taiwan is ranked third by growth competitiveness, Singapore retains fourth position, Sweden rises to fifth from ninth and Switzerland jumps to sixth from 15th last year.
The sole remaining superpower has the best prospects for growth over the next five to eight years, said the WEF's Global Competitiveness Report 2002-2003, which ranks 80 countries.
"The United States owes its high competitiveness mainly to its stellar performance in technology-related factors and a business environment that is conducive to entrepreneurship and risk-taking," the WEF said in a statement.
"The USA also scores well in its macroeconomic environment, although the country's low savings rate remains a matter of concern," the non-profit foundation said.
Officials at the forum said the result should not come as a surprise.
"That is not very surprising," the WEF's chief economist Peter Cornelius told a press conference. "The United States remain extremely innovative."
But in the current climate of global uncertainty risks remain.
"That the United States is ranked number one ... should not lead to complacency, for to maintain this leading position, the country has to resolve outstanding reform issues, especially the need to improve its governance system," Cornelius added.
The forum describes itself as an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world.
In last year's report, Finland, home of the world's biggest mobile-phone maker Nokia, was first and the US second in the categories of growth potential and current competitiveness.
Finland's fallback was mainly blamed on the slippage in IT, "but they are still in a good sound position, that's no accident," said Harvard Business School's Michael Porter, who contributed to the report.
The growth competitiveness index is made up of three variables -- technology, the quality of public institutions and the macroeconomic environment -- that drive medium and long-term growth.
"Competitive countries can be expected to return to a sustained growth path faster and earlier than those that are less competitive," the report said.
The report is based on a mixture of statistics, public information and surveys of 4,800 business leaders.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique