Palau has appointed Stan Shih (施振榮), founder of Taiwan's leading PC brand Acer Group, a senior economic advisor to the West Pacific island nation, the StanShih Foundation said today.
In a statement, the foundation, which was also established by Shih to help boost Taiwan's long-term sustainability and competitiveness, said the Acer founder received a senior economic advisor certificate from Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr today.
Photo courtesy of the StanShih Foundation
Shih led a delegation to Palau on Saturday to survey the investment environment of the island country, the foundation said.
Yesterday, the Palau president accompanied Shih and the delegation to survey the nation's marine tourism industry, the foundation added.
Shih and Whipps also signed a memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation by taking advantage of Taiwan's successful business model to help Palau and start to push for a series of joint economic developments.
Whipps also said he hoped Shih would employ his experience in building a successful business to help enhance the nation's economy, the foundation said.
Cited by the foundation, Shih said as Palau is a diplomatic ally of Taiwan, the private business sector should embrace efforts by Taiwan's government to boost the prosperity of its allies.
As an island of technology as well as a silicon island, in particular, Taiwan is able to take advantage of its achievements in developing high-tech industries and running a tech ecosystem to advance the industrial development of its allies, Shih said.
The Acer founder said Taiwan and Palau have been discussing economic cooperation in a wide range of areas such as medical care through the integration of Palau's traditional medicine achievements and Chinese medicine research teams from Taiwan's public and private sectors.
In the tourism industry, Palau and Taiwan's Lion Travel Service Co are discussing a plan to launch a premium tourism program on Peleliu Island, while Palau's 77-foot zero-carbon vessel, Porrima 77, is planning to enter the upscale diving and ecotourism by working with a Japanese partner, Shih said.
Whipps is scheduled to come to Taiwan in May and during his stay, the Palau president is to visit Kaohsiung, where the Porrima P111 vessel is being upgraded.
He is also to visit a wind energy development mill run by Taiwan- based high-tech company Wistron Corp, the foundation said.
Palau is one of 12 states that have diplomatic relations with Taipei.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric