After two days stuck at home because of Typhoon Aere and having spent several hours without electricity and water, I finally dared to leave the house and go to work. As I entered my car I expected the worst as I prepared to drive downtown from Yang Ming Shan. The news had shown fallen trees, landslides, abandoned cars and other obstacles, but what a big surprise: Everything was going smoothly and almost normal. I could still see the damage, and in other parts of the country it was even worse, but everybody was eager to clean things up and to return to normal life, even as the weather forecast showed another typhoon approaching.
I was reminded, once again, how happy I am to be living and working in this country with its optimistic and friendly people, with its positive way of dealing with unavoidable catastrophes and natural disasters. And business is the same as the people and the country: positive, optimistic and growing steadily.
The economic and trade relations between Taiwan and Germany, based on a solid economic basis, are also growing. In 2003 the bilateral trade volume between Germany and Taiwan reached 7.5 billion Euro, compared to 6.8 billion Euro in 2002. As a result of consistent trade promotion activities by industries, bilateral trade increased even further in the first eight-months of this year.
This achievement is the result of the continuing development, since the 1980's, of close trade and investment relations between Germany and Taiwan. At present, Taiwan is the third largest trading partner of Germany in Asia-Pacific and Germany is Taiwan's largest trading partner in Europe.
That German companies are highly confident in Taiwan's economy was shown this year by two big investments. The world's biggest liquid crystal producer, Merck, invested in a large factory in Taoyuan County and plans to set up an integrated manufacturing and R&D center there. Infinion established a joint venture with Nanja Technology Corporation, also in Taoyuan. Inotera Memories Inc., the joint venture's name, produces memory products at the world's largest and most competitive 300 mm DRAM production site with a total capacity of more than 50,000 wafer starts per month when fully operational.
Another 250 German companies have established businesses in Taiwan and are mostly satisfied. Legal and political stability are the main reasons for their satisfaction in addition to reliability of business partners and the availability of skilled workers.
German products are in high demand among Taiwanese consumers for their sophisticated product design and quality. We were very pleased to present a German consumer goods show, "GerMany Styles," to Taiwan this spring. Featured in the Far Eastern Department Stores around Taiwan, it was a big success. This was followed by the equally successful "GerMany Summer Festival" where German consumer products in the food sector were introduced.
Products and "Made in Germany" are already successfully represented in traditional Taiwan market sectors including: machinery and electrical devices; transport equipment and automobiles; chemicals, pharmaceuticals and others.
German companies are aware of the opportunities in the next decade, especially now that Taiwan is in the WTO and successfully opening the banking, retail, insurance, travel and service sector markets.
After the success of the German-Taiwanese Environmental Symposium in 2002 and the establishment of an environmental specialist (Environmental-Area Manager) in 2003, the German Trade Office hosted a symposium on renewable energies this year where German specialists presented state-of-the-art German technologies. German and Taiwanese companies, with the strong support of the GTO, will achieve prosperous cooperation to take advantage the future of of this market in Taiwan.
Taiwan is promoting the development of a knowledge-based economy. In response, the GTO has introduced and implemented an education system in Taiwan based on Germany's dual vocational system, a well established professional education system. As a long-term project it is aimed at supporting the education and training of young people in Taiwan while providing qualified candidates to businesses in Taiwan.
The German Trade Office has been helping and suppporting German and Taiwanese businesses since 1981. Germany is the gateway to European markets, even more so since Germany became the geographic centre of an enlarged European Union in May 2004. Currently, around 200 companies from Taiwan have established a company, branch office or representative office in Germany. Many came with the help of the German Trade Office Taipei.
More and more, the German Trade Office sees itself as a partner for both sides, reducing costs and offering services in a competetive, yet increasingly cooperative world. The German Trade Office will continue its strong commitment to partner Taiwanese companies wishing to access to the German market. Now with an enlarged European Union, the GTO Taipei has a responsiblility to introduce German investors to the opportunities in the Taiwan market. Finally, we at the German Trade Office Taipei want to thank the Taiwanese authorities for their help and support. We convey our best wishes to German and Taiwanese enterprises in Germany and Taiwan for a prosperous future and continued good business.
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
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
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
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