Taiwan has a lot to offer Indonesia on healthcare in terms of knowledge-sharing and collaboration. By working together, the countries could make significant strides in improving the overall health and well-being of their citizens.
Through initiatives such as promoting medical tourism, establishing partnerships, and offering training and education programs, Taiwan could attract more Indonesians and provide them with high-quality healthcare that they might not have access to in their home country.
Taiwan’s high-tech healthcare system and emphasis on technology could provide valuable insights and best practices for Indonesia’s healthcare system, which is in need of modernization.
Taiwan is unique with its National Health Insurance (NHI) system and high-tech approach. It has consistently been ranked as having one of the best healthcare systems in the world. This is due to a variety of factors, including its innovative policies and focus on preventative care.
One way Taiwan could assist Indonesia is through sharing its experience in implementing a digital health record system, which provides medical professionals with easy access to patient information, leading to fewer mistakes and better outcomes.
Taiwan’s healthcare system emphasizes preventative care through government programs promoting healthy living and disease prevention.
Life expectancy in Taiwan is 80.9 years, compared with Indonesia’s 71.7 years, a Ministry of Health and Welfare report released last year showed. This is due to better healthcare services, a higher standard of living and its more developed healthcare infrastructure.
Taiwan’s affordable healthcare system offers universal coverage, contributing to better overall health. Public health initiatives, disease prevention and health education programs have also improved the well-being of the population.
Taipei could help Jakarta improve its healthcare system in several ways: by providing training and education for Indonesian health professionals to strengthen their skills and knowledge; by promoting collaboration between Taiwan and Indonesia to share best practices and exchange ideas on improving healthcare; and by sharing Taiwan’s innovative policies, such as preventative care and use of technology, to help Indonesia develop more effective healthcare strategies.
From May 15 to 19, six officials from the General Health Advisory Council of Muhammadiyah East Java were invited to participate in a workshop on information technology (IT) systems at hospitals hosted by the Taiwan International Healthcare Training Center and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. During the workshop, participants learned about aspects of hospital IT systems, including information systems, the NHI system, and medical and health information management.
In addition to the workshop, participants visited medical organizations, which provided them with a broader perspective on healthcare practices and systems.
Taiwan has a lot of potential in the field of high-tech healthcare and artificial intelligence for clinical research. It could serve as a valuable partner for teaching-based hospitals in Indonesia to establish sustainable clinical research collaboration. In turn, this could lead to the development of new and improved healthcare solutions for people in both countries.
Nearly 2 million Indonesians per year seek medical care abroad in places such as Europe, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore or the US, a CNBC report said. With its well-respected healthcare system, Taiwan could be a solution for those seeking quality medical services.
However, to attract more Indonesians, Taiwan must implement certain strategies first.
Taiwan has several ways to open its doors for Indonesians seeking healthcare. One method is to offer specialized treatments that are less available in Indonesia.
For example, Taiwan has a strong reputation in the field of cancer treatment, particularly in the areas of precision medicine and immunotherapy. By offering such cutting-edge treatments, Taiwan could attract patients from Indonesia who are seeking advanced care.
Medical tourism is a growing industry in many countries, and Taiwan could position itself as a destination for patients seeking high-quality healthcare services. By promoting its healthcare system and the services it offers, Taiwan could attract Indonesians seeking quality care at an affordable price.
Taiwan could also offer specialized packages for Indonesians. These could include transportation, accommodation and other amenities to make the patient’s experience as comfortable and stress-free as possible.
Taiwan’s healthcare system is a model for other countries to follow. Its emphasis on preventative care, innovative policies and use of technology has helped make it one of the best in the world.
Taiwan has the potential to become a destination for Indonesians seeking quality healthcare services abroad. By implementing strategies such as promoting medical tourism, streamlining the visa process, offering affordable medical services and establishing partnerships with Indonesian healthcare institutions, Taiwan could attract more Indonesians and improve healthcare outcomes in both countries.
Asri Jalal is a fellow researcher at the Center for Community Health Development at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya and a graduate student at Kaohsiung Medical University’s College of Nursing.
In the US’ National Security Strategy (NSS) report released last month, US President Donald Trump offered his interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. The “Trump Corollary,” presented on page 15, is a distinctly aggressive rebranding of the more than 200-year-old foreign policy position. Beyond reasserting the sovereignty of the western hemisphere against foreign intervention, the document centers on energy and strategic assets, and attempts to redraw the map of the geopolitical landscape more broadly. It is clear that Trump no longer sees the western hemisphere as a peaceful backyard, but rather as the frontier of a new Cold War. In particular,
When it became clear that the world was entering a new era with a radical change in the US’ global stance in US President Donald Trump’s second term, many in Taiwan were concerned about what this meant for the nation’s defense against China. Instability and disruption are dangerous. Chaos introduces unknowns. There was a sense that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might have a point with its tendency not to trust the US. The world order is certainly changing, but concerns about the implications for Taiwan of this disruption left many blind to how the same forces might also weaken
As the new year dawns, Taiwan faces a range of external uncertainties that could impact the safety and prosperity of its people and reverberate in its politics. Here are a few key questions that could spill over into Taiwan in the year ahead. WILL THE AI BUBBLE POP? The global AI boom supported Taiwan’s significant economic expansion in 2025. Taiwan’s economy grew over 7 percent and set records for exports, imports, and trade surplus. There is a brewing debate among investors about whether the AI boom will carry forward into 2026. Skeptics warn that AI-led global equity markets are overvalued and overleveraged
As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) races toward its 2027 modernization goals, most analysts fixate on ship counts, missile ranges and artificial intelligence. Those metrics matter — but they obscure a deeper vulnerability. The true future of the PLA, and by extension Taiwan’s security, might hinge less on hardware than on whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can preserve ideological loyalty inside its own armed forces. Iran’s 1979 revolution demonstrated how even a technologically advanced military can collapse when the social environment surrounding it shifts. That lesson has renewed relevance as fresh unrest shakes Iran today — and it should