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Tsai meets with Japan rep, reaffirms Taiwan's commitment to joining CPTPP

President Tsai Ing-wen met with Hiroyasu Izumi, new chief representative of the Japan-Taiwan...

In April 2014, the National Science Council—the government’s dedicated agency charged with advancing science and technology development, supporting academic research and promoting the nation’s three science parks—was reorganized and renamed as the Ministry of Science and Technology. While continuing its predecessor’s innovative measures and programs, the MOST, with a new organizational structure, aims to focus academic research on the needs of industry as Taiwan relies on science and technology innovation as a key driver of economic growth and national progress.

The ROC Constitution, promulgated Jan. 1, 1947, did not begin to serve its intended purpose as the foundation for democratic governance and rule of law until after 1987, when martial law was lifted in Taiwan. Since then, it has undergone seven rounds of revision in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2005 to make it more relevant to the country’s current condition. One of the important consequences of these amendments is that since 1991, the government has acknowledged that its jurisdiction extends only to the areas it controls. The president and legislators, therefore, are elected by and accountable to the people of those areas only.

The diversity of Taiwan’s media is reflected in the plethora of outlets and intense competition within the industry. The nation’s press operates in a media environment that is one of the freest in Asia. Taiwan was ranked the top Asian nation for the sixth consecutive year in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released April 25 by France-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In the survey of 180 countries and territories, Taiwan jumped three places to 42nd, one ahead of South Korea, with Japan, 67th; Hong Kong, 70th; Singapore, 151st; and China, 176th. Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands topped the index, in that order.