You probably already know that Taiwan’s Quanta Computer manufactures roughly one out of three of the world’s notebook computers; that Taiwanese companies produce 70% of the powertrain components used in Tesla electric vehicles; and that Yilan’s Sheico Group makes 65% of the world’s wetsuits.
Abigail Hing Wen is an American writer of Asian descent. Packed with romance, her Loveboat, Taipei—a New York Times bestseller—tells the story of four young people who come to Taiwan for a summer program in Chinese language and culture. Shortly after the novel’s publication in 2020, US-based Ace Entertainment bought the film rights, and filming started in Taiwan the following year. This is the first Hollywood movie to be set wholly in Taiwan.
The international management consulting firm McKinsey & Company estimates that between now and 2030, 15,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers per week need to be installed in the European Union to keep up with demand, and President Joe Biden has announced that the US will spend US$5 billion over the next five years to install EV charging stations nationwide. Meanwhile, Taiwan is aiming for all new cars and motorcycles to be electrically powered by 2040.
In 2021 a presentation titled “Taiwan Beats Showcase” brought Taiwanese bands and singers to the Austin, Texas-based South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival, which moved online in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. To record their sets for the show, musicians and singers got out of the studio and sought out performance spaces with local color—including high mountains, a temple, a shrimp fishing pond, and a traditional factory—to offer the global audience fresh new musical experiences.
The last few years have introduced the public to a new way to appreciate Taiwan’s rich and varied terrain. The hard work of government and private organizations has brought Taiwan its first nationally recognized “silent mountain trail”: the Cueifong Lake Circular Trail on Taipingshan. In 2020, it also saw Yangmingshan National Park designated the world’s first “urban quiet park.” In 2021, Taipei City’s “culture and quiet” earned it a place on Time magazine’s list of the “World’s Greatest Places.
Taiwan’s comics industry has historically had two golden ages, each creating numerous famous figures whose works have spanned media and even reached across borders. However, for any number of reasons, the industry has more recently been in the doldrums, with the environment particularly difficult in the past decade.
Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, the descendants of maritime people who settled far and wide, developed methods here in Taiwan for using plants for many purposes, including food, medicine, household utensils, and construction. For them, the mountain forests were like an enormous pantry where they could go for resources at any time, on condition that they took only what they needed, leaving the rest for future generations.
“The countries that build great zero-carbon companies and industries will be the ones that lead the global economy in the coming decades.”In his book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, this is how Bill Gates describes what net zero means for the future. And President Tsai Ing-wen has stated on many occasions that “achieving a transformation to net zero by 2050 is a goal for the entire world, and also for Taiwan.”
More and more art media are being invented in the modern world. Thanks to advances in digital technology, new media art has broken the restraints of the physical environment to find a place in virtual reality. No longer merely passive receivers, viewers are now able to immerse themselves in art and even interact with it. Artists today enjoy infinite new possibilities, making exciting forays into untraveled realms.
Yang Yang is a renowned solar power researcher. Born and raised in Taiwan, he graduated from National Cheng Kung University with a degree in physics before pursuing advanced studies in optoelectronic materials in the US, and is currently a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
