Taiwan Policy Research Articles

Educational improvement to whose images? – A coloniality perspective of higher education policy in Taiwan

The recent reform movement of higher education policies, which are modeled on the top-ranked Western higher education institutions globally, has significantly impacted the administrative model among universities in Taiwan. This study takes the Higher Education Sprout Project, one of the current governmental higher education policies, as an example to examine the problem representation of the policy discourse and how one regionally selective university responds to the policy. This study aims to provide an alternative perspective to unpack how the global university rankings and the entrenched “world-class” imaginary have represented higher education improvement agenda in Taiwan. By bringing light to a coloniality perspective, this study argues that the ongoing colonial logic has been promoted and perpetuated by current higher education policies, which have reshaped the institutional mission of Taiwanese universities. The long-term misinterpreted connotation of “internationalization” and the entrenched “world-class” ideology within policy discourses have overlooked and systemically denied the Western hegemony of epistemic violence, as well as the Anglo-American dominated academic coloniality.

Green finance for mitigating greenhouse gases and promoting renewable energy development: Case study in Taiwan

<abstract> <p>In recent years, the tools of green finance have evolved to foster green economic growth like renewable energy and climate change mitigation. Taking a case study of Taiwan not yet reviewed in the literature, the present study aimed to conduct a preliminary analysis for exploring the amazing growth in renewable energy over the past fifteen years (2010–2023) in connection with the achievements of green finance promotion over the past five years (2018–2022). The updated database was accessed on the websites of Taiwan's competent authorities. This work was divided into the following main parts: Taiwan's carbon neutrality policy and sustainable development goals (SDGs) relevant to green finance, the regulatory promotion for green finance action plans in Taiwan, and the status of green finance measures and achievements in Taiwan. The findings supported the idea that the implications of green policies for unlocking green finance and green investment significantly enhanced a positive influence on green energy industry development in Taiwan. In this regard, it showed the amazing growth of renewable energy generation, particularly in solar photovoltaics (PV) power and offshore wind power, since 2010. These findings were similar to those in Asian countries like China and Japan. Responding to Taiwan's SDGs policy by 2030 and the net-zero emissions in 2050, aspects relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation were investigated in order to focus on the use of green finance tools.</p> </abstract>

The effects of cigarette price incentive and regulatory policies in Taiwan

The effects of cigarette price incentive and regulatory policies in Taiwan

Influence of Taiwan's Migrant Retention and Long-Term Utilization Initiatives: A Case Study of Vietnamese and Philippine Migrant Workers

Abstract This study reveals that Taiwan Manpower Agencies have a beneficial impact on Taiwan's "Long-term Retention of Skilled Foreign Workers Program". Since the introduction of migrant workers in 1989, Taiwan's migrant worker population has surpassed 730,000. Initiated on April 30, 2022, the program has progressively relaxed its eligibility criteria to align with Taiwan's permanent residency system and future immigration policies. While around 208,000 individuals meet the criteria for the program, only 6,643 approvals have been granted as of April 30, 2023, resulting in a success rate of 3.2% only. The results demonstrate that the willingness of migrant workers to participate in the program correlates with factors such as their possession of professional licenses and their awareness of policy channels. The acquisition of professional licenses also correlates with their age and familiarity with policy channels. Over 40% of them rely on manpower agencies as their primary source of policy information, confirming that most eligible migrant workers prefer manpower agencies assisted for smoother application procedures. Taiwan's government can entrust manpower agencies to handle the promotion of the program. This approach is likely to yield more substantial results than the current practice of independent applications by employers and migrant workers. JEL classification numbers: F22, J61. Keywords: Skilled, Immigration, Foreign workers, Human resources, Retaining talent, Long-term use, Intermediate migrant workers.

Sport and policy in ‘contested nations’: Analysing policy and political considerations in Taiwan and Scotland

Policy learning from other international contexts is an important strategy during the sports policymaking process for the government of Taiwan, and recent research has examined potential parallels between Taiwan and Scotland with regards to sports policy. Although the status of Taiwan and Scotland is not the same, interesting comparisons can be made given their shared status as ‘contested nations’ that are often in the shadow of their closest neighbours with whom there is an uneasy political relationship – respectively, China and England. As a consequence, sport is regarded in both countries as an important vehicle for establishing and promoting a distinctive identity, albeit with contrasting political and policy considerations. Drawing upon 15 semi-structured interviews with sports policymakers and politicians from both Taiwanese and Scottish contexts, this paper critically examines the similarities and contrasts with regards to the political considerations which shape and constrain the nature of sport policy in each context. This analysis will focus on the role of central government, local government, sport policy organisations, and sporting National Governing Bodies in both Taiwan and Scotland, with particular emphasis on the position of sport within the broader policy, political, ideological and constitutional considerations for policymakers in each context.

The impact of passenger electric vehicles on carbon reduction and environmental impact under the 2050 net zero policy in Taiwan

In response to the 2050 net-zero emission goal, Taiwan initiated the “Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions” in 2022, including a focus on electric vehicles (EVs). However, the emission reduction effect of electric vehicles has not been fully studied in Taiwan. Therefore, this study aims to conduct life cycle assessment (LCA) on environmental performance by replacing petrol vehicles with electric vehicles on the basis of the well-to-wheel method. This study also establishes a feedback mechanism through system dynamics to correlate the DALY results of LCA with population and energy demand. Results of the impact of DALY on lifespan and population is relatively small, indicating that the reduction in environmental impact from electric vehicles helps mitigate the decline in population. The emission-reducing potential and environmental impact of electric vehicles by 2050 are also estimated. Results demonstrate that within a 95% confidence interval and considering uncertainties arising from total driving distance, fuel economy, and energy intensity of electric vehicles, the greenhouse gas emissions of electric vehicles in 2050 will be between 7.826 × 105 and 1.069 × 106 tCO2e, respectively. In addition, the emission-reducing potential of electric vehicles is in the range of 1.076 × 106 to 1.804 × 106 tCO2e.

Leaving the dragon’s shadow – Normative Power Europe and the emergence of a Taiwan policy in the EU?

ABSTRACT For a long time, Taiwan was confined to being an object of the EU’s China policy, but the EU increasingly treats Taiwan as a partner in its own right. EU-Taiwan relations are in their most dynamic stage since the EU opened its representative office in Taipei in 2003. But the ‘One China policy’ still constrains EU-Taiwan relations, as the EU only recognizes the People’s Republic of China as a sovereign state and not Taiwan. The article analyzes EU-Taiwan relations through the lens of Normative Power Europe. Taiwan has gained more attention and support in the EU, because Taiwan is Asia’s most liberal democracy. Furthermore, Taiwan also fits well into the EU’s geo-economic strategy of de-risking. China’s increasingly aggressive policy towards Taiwan and strong support from the United States for Taiwan strengthen the EU’s support for Taiwan, too.

“The majority are left behind”: the promotion of bilingual education 2030 policy in Taiwan and its potential to widen horizontal inequalities

English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is commonly adopted as a strategy for higher education internationalisation. While there are numerous studies on the teaching practices of EMI programmes, the relationship between EMI and structural inequalities has been less investigated, especially in “universal” higher education systems. To address the research gap, this study investigates the EMI practices of two Taiwanese higher education institutions (HEIs) under current government initiatives. Qualitative data from policy documents and semi-structured interviews are analysed with an institutional logics approach and reflexive thematic analysis. The findings suggest that while state, managerial, and academic logics jointly shape EMI strategies in the public university case, EMI practices in the private university of technology case are predominantly driven by market and managerial logics and challenged by academic logic. Furthermore, this study reveals the structural “stuckness” encountered by the private case. In Taiwan’s hierarchical higher education system, the promotion of EMI could result in widening horizontal inequalities among HEIs. More specifically, under the EMI grading certification scheme for students and the tiered award system for HEIs, the majority may be left behind whereas the few with linguistic capital are spotlighted. Therefore, this study concludes that in light of organisational conditions, policymakers should allow greater flexibility for HEIs to develop performance indicators appropriate to their students’ needs.

Research on the Restrictive Factors of Establishing Cross-Straits Common Market

The establishment of the cross-Straits common Market was first proposed at the beginning of this century and has repeatedly appeared in official government documents. So far, however, progress on the common market has been slow. Therefore, this paper mainly studies the restricting factors of cross-strait common market. This paper first analyzes the status of the common market in the process of economic cooperation. Then it analyzes the current situation of cross-strait cooperation through trade, investment, industrial layout and Preferential Taiwan policies. Finally, we find that political opposition, structural contradiction and political opposition are the restrictive factors for the establishment of cross-Straits common market.

Backgrounds and challenges of food education policy in Taiwan: risk or chance in the reflexive food modernity?

In 2022, Taiwan enacted the Food and Agricultural Education Act, thus officially launching its food education policy. The objective of this article is to elucidate the social background to this Act and current challenges to promoting food education. The data were obtained from the relevant literature and interviews with 11 key actors, who represented academia, the government, public education and civil society. Although having much in common with the Japanese equivalent policy, Taiwan's food education contains some notable features. Food education began as a reaction to recent food safety scandals, growing food anxiety, the prevalence of eating out, the globalisation of food systems and increasing instability, all of which characterise reflexive food modernity. The Taiwanese policy aims to avoid the nutrition-centered, gendered and nationalistic tendencies of food education in countries such as Japan by stressing the interconnection of food system actors, social responsibility for family meals and an openness to diverse food cultures. However, achieving such objectives requires consciousness of the reflexive food modernity facing Taiwan and addressing operational issues, notably the strengthening of inter-ministerial collaboration and the integration of dialogue with diverse food education actors in defining educational content and professional qualifications.

Evolution of the US’ Strategic Ambiguity in the Cross-Strait Relations

Purpose: This paper analyzes how the US policy on Taiwan is gradually evolving from strategic ambiguity to strategic clarity. First, I would like to analyze China's Taiwan policy in terms of the core interests of the Communist Party of China. Second, I would like to specify why the US policy on Taiwan is evolving from strategic ambiguity to strategic clarity. Third, in the event of the Taiwan contingency, the security threat to the Korean Peninsula is identified and policy alternatives are proposed.
 Method: This paper delves into the US policy on Taiwan with the Balance of Interest theory of Randall Schweller. A neoclassical realist suggests that national foreign policy is indirect and complex and must be reinterpreted through a parameter unit of domestic factors. According to Neo-Classic realists, the parameters that affect a country's foreign policy are such as domestic interest groups and the political leader’s ideology and identity.
 Results: The main parameters of the US policy shift towards Taiwan from the perspectives of Neo-classical Realism are as follows. First, it is Biden’s identity of value diplomacy which prioritizes democracy and human rights. Second, Xi Jinping's military threats to annex Taiwan, and the pursuit of a gray zone strategy are driving factors for the US Policy shift from strategic ambiguity to strategic clarity. Third, the US policy shift to Taiwan was initiated by curbing China's rise through the control of the Indo-Pacific maritime control and global supply chain.
 Conclusion: The contingency in the Taiwan Strait is closely linked to security on the Korean Peninsula due to the US’ strategic flexibility. Currently, tensions between the US and China are rising in the Indo-Pacific region as the US military support for Taiwan's self-defense. The ROK should be wary of being involved in the unintended Taiwan crisis. To build a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific, strategic communication between the US and China should be strengthened while respecting the “one China” principle.

Has there been an adequate poverty reduction policy for single-parent households? An examination of the financial support for the single-parent and two-parent families with children in the Taiwanese context

ABSTRACT Single-parent households have been the interest of policy since the 1990s in the Taiwanese context. As the impacts of the existing support to single-parent households remains unclear, this research is aimed at empirically comparing the distributional effects of policies on two-parent families and single-parent families with children, with the factors of gender, employment status and co-residence of the head of household being taken into account. Using data from Survey of Family Income and Expenditure for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2019, the findings show that the economic gap between two-parent and single-parent families is growing. There have been clear signs of poverty mitigation for two-parent and single-parent families, showing that a general redistributive policy in Taiwan has been pursued to address poverty reduction for all families, but favour single-parent families. Based on the findings, policy suggestions are made regarding how to address single-parent families’ financial wellbeing.

Using Employment Support to Foster Social Inclusion for Patients With Mental Disorders

Social inclusion is a concept that is being widely discussed within the realms of politics and policy in the 21st century. Social inclusion is an essential element of social policy in Taiwan. Although fostering social inclusion for patients with mental disorders is a main focus of global health concern, this issue has been little explored in the nursing literature. Employment is both an important path by which patients with mental disorders return to the community and one of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. Although the government of Taiwan has made significant efforts to improve employment services for patients with mental disorders, the results have been disappointing. Nurses must better understand the meaning of work for patients with mental disorders and the difficulties they face; reflect on the deficiencies and limitations of nursing practice; and strengthen their professional abilities to provide effective employment support care to patients with mental disorders. We also need to advocate for appropriate employment transition services to be provided by various government departments and civil organizations, for the development of an effective case management system, and for the provision of ongoing employment support to patients with mental disorders. The above activities and actions can assist patients with mental disorders to increase their social participation by taking stable and safe jobs, which will reduce the risk of their isolation from society and help nurses fulfill their responsibility for providing social care to patients with mental disorders.

The Political Economy of Minimum Wage Policies in South Korea and Taiwan: Decision-Making under Strong versus Weak Partisanship

This study conducts a systemic comparison of minimum wage decision-making in Korea and Taiwan. It demonstrates that Korea’s big-business-dominated economy builds confrontational labour–business relations to be exploited by political parties, resulting in partisan decisions on the minimum wage, to a greater extent than Taiwan’s more mixed economy. A large social divide based on the economic structure translates into a substantial partisan difference in minimum wage policies, when endorsed by the unique features of the minimum wage issue and carried out through the agents of the tripartite commission. As seen from the outcomes, a marked difference exists between Korea and Taiwan: Korea shows a dramatic fluctuation in annual minimum-wage increases, whereas Taiwan’s increases remain stable across different governments. Korean governments actively respond to their core constituencies, whether labour or business, while Taiwan governments seek to strike a balance.

US’ TAIWAN STRATEGY: AN INSTRUMENT TO CONTAIN CHINA

The issue of Taiwan has become a major point of contention between the US and China, with visits by US officials resulting in strong criticism from China and military escalation in the region. Experts are concerned that a conflict between these two powers in the Asia-Pacific region could endanger global peace and stability, especially given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. China maintains its claim over Taiwan under the 'One China Policy,’ considering it a lost province and advocating for its unification with the mainland. While recognising Taiwan as part of China under this policy, the US engages in diplomatic and military activities with Taiwan, which China considers interference in its internal affairs. In the post-Cold War era, the US adopted an ambiguous policy towards Taiwan as part of its containment strategy against China. Therefore, the US seeks to slow China's perpetual growth by promising enhanced defence for Taiwan. Recent US official visits to Taiwan reflect provocative measures in line with this strategy. This paper analyses the US' Taiwan policy as a containment instrument against China, recent measures adopted by the US administration to provoke China, Taiwan's strategic significance, and the US' long-standing commitment to Taiwan's security as essential for maintaining its leadership role in international affairs. Bibliography Entry Farooq, Muhammad. 2023. "US’ Taiwan Strategy: An Instrument to Contain China." Margalla Papers 27 (1): 96-108.

Diaspora Entrepreneurs’ Perspective on Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Policy in Taiwan

Diaspora Entrepreneurs’ Perspective on Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Policy in Taiwan

Indicators for measuring effectiveness and impact of international sporting events in Taiwan

Sport event hosting is viewed as an important tool to create a tremendous impact upon humans, society, cities as well as nations. Hosting international sports events has been a long-standing national policy in Taiwan. Due to differences in the scale of the sport events, evaluating their impact may be required in order to tailor to the needs of the locality in terms of scope and context of the event impact assessment. Thus, this paper identifies suitable indicators for assessing the impact of international sports events in Taiwan through the Delphi study. Four scopes for measuring the impact are identified: sporting, economic, social and environmental impact. Specifically, sporting impact is viewed as the essential component for the local scenario. Also, some emerging indicators were unique and used to revise the context for measuring the event impact.

Predicting Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Receiving Finite Periods of Antiviral Therapy

PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most severe complications in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. HCC can still develop in patients with chronic HBV (CHB) infection undergoing antiviral therapy. Several effective scoring systems for the prediction of HCC risk in CHB patients have been established. However, very few of them are designed for CHB patients receiving nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) therapy. Furthermore, none are available for HCC risk prediction in CHB patients receiving finite periods of antiviral therapy. METHODS: This study enrolled 790 consecutive treatment-naïve patients with CHB infection who had visited our liver clinics from 2008 to 2012 for pretreatment assessment before receiving antiviral therapies. The treatments were provided at finite periods according to the National Health Insurance Policy in Taiwan. The last follow-up date was 31 December 2021. We analyzed the virological and clinical factors in these 790 CHB patients receiving finite periods of NA treatments and identified the most significant risk factors for HCC to establish a novel predictive scoring system. By using stepwise selection in a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, we divided the patients into three risk groups. RESULTS: Our predictive scoring system included five independent variables: genotype C (adjusted HR [aHR] = 2.23), NA-withdraw-related hepatitis relapse (aHR = 6.96), male (aHR = 4.19), liver cirrhosis (aHR = 11.14), and T1768A core promoter mutation (aHR = 3.21). This model revealed significant differences in HCC incidence among the three risk groups. The 5-year cumulative HCC risk significantly differed among the three risk groups (low risk: 1.33%, moderate risk: 4.99%, and high risk: 17.46%), with log-rank test p < 0.001. CONCLUSION: Our predictive scoring system is a promising tool for the prediction of HCC in CHB patients receiving finite NA treatments. Genotype C, NA-withdraw-related hepatitis relapse, male gender, liver cirrhosis, and the T1768A HBV core promoter mutation were significant independent risk factors.

From “Strategic Ambiguity” Toward “Strategic Clarity”: U.S. Taiwan Policy under Biden Presidency

The U.S. Taiwan policy has undergone significant changes under Biden Presidency. Strategic ambiguity is commonly used by U.S. government to deliberately spread uncertainty in Beijing and Taipei about whether the United States would intervene in cross-strait war. In recent years, Biden administration shifted from longstanding “strategic ambiguity” toward “strategic clarity” by pledging to fight alongside Taiwan against China in the event of war. The crisis in the Taiwan Strait looks imminent and the probability of a conflict can no longer be ruled out. How to resolved it peacefully require more analysis and a bit of speculation

Food Education Policy in Taiwan: Food and Agricultural Education Act, its Backgrounds and Policy Framework

Food Education Policy in Taiwan: Food and Agricultural Education Act, its Backgrounds and Policy Framework