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October 2020 | Vol. 50 | Issue 10 Restructuring supply chains Amid COVID-19, a haven for talent CONTENTS NEWS AND VIEWS 6 President’s View AmCham Taipei Takes Action in Support of a BTA OCTOBER 2020 VOLUME 50, NUMBER 10 By Leo Seewald 一○九年十月號 7 Editorial Moving Toward a BTA with the U.S. Publisher 發行人 往台美雙邊貿易協定邁進 Leo Seewald 李豪 Editor-in-Chief 總編輯 8 Taiwan Briefs Don Shapiro 沙蕩 Deputy Editor 副總編輯 By Jeremy Olivier Jeremy Olivier 歐嘉仁 Art Director/ 美術主任/ Production Coordinator 後製統籌 COVER SECTION Katia Chen 陳國梅 Manager, Publications Sales & Marketing 廣告行銷經理 Transforming the Energy Mix 改變能源結構 Caroline Lee 李佳紋 Translation 翻譯 By Timothy Ferry Kevin Chen, Andrew Wang 陳又銘, 王先棠 20 Renewables Industry American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei Faces Environmentalist 129 MinSheng East Road, Section 3, 7F, Suite 706, Taipei 10596, Taiwan Challenges P.O. Box 17-277, Taipei, 10419 Taiwan Tel: 2718-8226 Fax: 2718-8182 Environmental activists aim e-mail: [email protected] website: http://www.amcham.com.tw to ensure that Taiwan’s green 名稱:台北市美國商會工商雜誌 energy revolution is truly 發行所:台北市美國商會 environmentally sustainable. 臺北市10596民生東路三段129號七樓706室 電話:2718-8226 傳真:2718-8182 14 Offshore Wind Projects But will their efforts slow down Taiwan Business Topics is a publication of the American Taiwan’s energy transition? Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, ROC. Contents are Face a Series of Challenges independent of and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Officers, Board of Governors, Supervisors or members. 22 Natural Gas to the Rescue © Copyright 2020 by the American Chamber of Commerce The COVID-19 pandemic has in Taipei, ROC. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint original material must be requested in writing from slowed down the development With renewable energy AmCham. Production done in-house, Printing by Farn Mei Printing Co., Ltd. of offshore wind resources projects likely to be delayed, 登記字號:台誌第一零九六九號 in 2020 due to disruptions Taiwan will be relying even 印刷所:帆美印刷股份有限公司 經銷商:台灣英文雜誌社 in supply chains. Over the more heavily than expected on 台北市108台北市萬華區長沙街二段66號 發行日期:中華民國一○九年十月 long-term, however, the natural gas. 中華郵政北台字第5000號執照登記為雜誌交寄 ISSN 1818-1961 government’s rigorous localization policy may present Chairperson: C.W. Chin Vice Chairpersons: Fupei Wang, Timothy Shields an even bigger impediment. Secretary: Seraphim Ma Treasurer: Angela Yu 19 Cultivating Talent for the 2019-2020 Governors: Offshore Wind Era Albert Chang, Seraphim Ma, Paulus Mok, Manohar Thyagaraj. A new, globally certified 2020-2021 Governors: C.W. Chin, Brian Sung, training center in Taichung Timothy Shields, Fupei Wang, Roger Yee, Angela Yu. is helping Taiwan develop 2020 Supervisors: Mark Horng, Stephen Tan, Terry Tsao. specialized personnel for its COMMITTEES: offshore wind industry. Agro-Chemical/ Melody Wang; Asset Management/ Eric Lin, Angela Yang, Derek Yung; Banking/ Paulus Mok; Capital Markets/ Mandy Huang, Eric Jai, C.P. Liu; Chemical Manufacturers/ Charles Liang, Michael Wong; Cosmetics/ Abigail Lin; Defense/ Manohar TAIWAN BUSINESS BACKGROUNDER Thyagaraj, Roger Yee; Digital Economy/ Max Chen, Renee Chou, Tai Chi Chuan; Energy/ Richard Freer, 26 Taiwan’s Tesla Boom, and 29 With U.S. Cooperation, a Randy Tsai; Human Resources/ Christine Chen, David Tsai; Infrastructure & Engineering/ Wayne Chin, Paul Looking for More Shift in Supply Chains Lee; Insurance/ Emily Chen, KT Lim, Linda Tsou; Intellectual Property & Licensing/ Jason Chen, Peter Formosa Plastics founder Wang Taiwan and the U.S. are seek- Dernbach, Vincent Shih; Marketing & Distribution/ (tba); Medical Devices/ Louis Ko, Jeffrey Wang; Yung-ching failed at building a ing to build alternatives to pro- Pharmaceutical/ Justin Chin, Rie Nakajima, Shuhei Sekiguchi; Private Equity/ Echo Yeh; Public Health/ car business, but his failure laid duction of critical equipment in Joyce Lee, Pongo Peng, Tim Shields; Retail/ Ceasar the groundwork for the country’s China in the wake of the global Chen, Peggy Liao; Sustainable Development Goals/ Kenny Jeng, Cosmas Lu, Fupei Wang; Tax/ Heidi Liu, successful Tesla supply chain. pandemic. Cheli Liaw; Technology/ Cynthia Chyn, Stella Lai, Angela Yu; Telecommunications & Media/ Thomas Ee, What are Taiwan’s advantages in By Louise Watt David Shin; Transportation & Logistics/ (tba); Travel & Tourism/ Gina Tsai, Jason Yeh, Fiona Yuan. the electric vehicle age? By Kuo-chen Lu, CommonWealth COVER DESIGN: GRACE YANG 4 TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS • OCTOBER 2020 10 contents.indd 4 2020/10/6 下午5:04 OCTOBER • VOLUME 50 NUMBER 10 INDUSTRY F CUS A Report on Human Resources Attracting the Talent 34 Popular Gold Card Program Still Needs Streamlining The special visa program for high-level foreign profes- sionals has become all the more appealing in light of Taiwan’s deft handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet bureaucratic obstacles could deter potential appli- cants. By James Chater 37 For the Startup Scene, Unexpected Help from Silicon Valley The severe spread of COVID-19 across the U.S. this spring brought the return to Taiwan of high-level Tai- wanese-American talent from Silicon Valley. They are now helping build a similar environment for innovation in their ancestral home. By Jeremy Olivier 40 Taiwan’s Students Face Overseas Study Dilemma Every year, tens of thousands of Taiwanese leave to pursue degree programs in the U.S. and elsewhere, but the pandemic is forcing them to make a tough choice this year: go ahead with their original plan, take courses online, or defer their studies altogether. By Jeremy Olivier EXECUTIVE SUITE 46 Meet Matthias Bausenwein of Ørsted By Jeremy Olivier AMCHAM EVENT 43 The Chamber’s 69th Anniversary SPONSORED CONTENT Inside Cover Taoyuan Helps Send PPE to Friendly Cities Abroad 24 Taipower Combines Stable Power Supply with Environmental Friendliness 44 JTI Key to securing a robust investment environment in Taiwan amid the pandemic: Serious attention to stakeholders 48 Seeing Taiwan The Lily and the Butterfly: Mountain Motifs in Taiwan’s South TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS • OCTOBER 2020 5 10 contents.indd 5 2020/10/6 下午5:09 PRESIDENT'S VIEW AmCham Taipei Takes Action in Support of a BTA Taiwan appears to be making progress in Third, we have been meeting with AIT as pursuing a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) well as Taiwan government officials to under- with the U.S. September’s visit of Under Sec- stand their respective positions on the process retary of State Keith Krach, while brief, was of achieving a BTA, as well as the poten- a strong indication of the U.S. government’s tial timelines. We want to make sure, to the desire to move ahead on strengthening eco- extent possible, that we are all on the same nomic relations with Taiwan. Still, a lot of page in how we approach the BTA issue. work needs to be done to move the process Finally, AmCham plans to hold a vir- toward a BTA forward, especially since it is tual CEO Mission to the U.S. Although not entirely clear what the process will be. COVID-19 this year made it impossible to For our part, AmCham is focusing our send a delegation to Washington as we typ- efforts on a few key areas with an emphasis ically do each June, we still feel the need to on identifying the relevant stakeholders in share our views with key stakeholders in the the BTA process and then letting them know U.S. Led by our Government Relations Com- that the Chamber views this initiative as a mittee, the Chamber will be reaching out top priority. virtually to many of the important contacts First, as you may have heard, AmCham we would usually visit in person. Key among has entered into an understanding with the these is the Office of the U.S. Trade Repre- U.S.-Taiwan Business Council to jointly estab- sentative (USTR), which is responsible for lish a U.S.-Taiwan Bilateral Trade Agreement driving the American trade policy agenda. Business Coalition. This Coalition is intended With an American presidential election fast to solidify support for a U.S.-Taiwan BTA and approaching, it is even more important to act as a crucial engine for advocacy to pro- share our members’ views with Congress and mote BTA negotiations with Taiwan. We are others interested in bolstering the bilateral currently recruiting members – predominantly relationship. The aim is to garner bipartisan American organizations, companies, and support to ensure that the U.S. continues to influential individuals – to join the coalition support Taiwan’s stability and economic pros- and support this advocacy initiative. perity as America’s 9th largest trading partner. Second, AmCham has signed a joint state- We hope that these efforts will help expe- ment with the Chinese National Association dite progress toward BTA negotiations and for Industry and Commerce in Taiwan. This continue to drive the growth in trade between body represents many of Taiwan’s most the U.S. and Taiwan. prominent businesses. Given that Taiwan and the U.S. are among each other’s major trading partners, there is strong interest on the part of the CNAIC to work with us to push for a BTA. As expressed in our joint statement, “After 69 years of AmCham’s operation in Taiwan, there is no question that the sta- bility and prosperity of Taiwan is vital to our Leo Seewald members.” We are convinced that a BTA will President, further that stability and prosperity. American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei 6 TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS • OCTOBER 2020 10 presidents view.indd 6 2020/10/6 上午12:48 E D I T O R I A L Moving Toward a BTA with the U.S. ecent progress in tightening the U.S.-Taiwan relation- been bipartisan – as has the desire to ensure trade stability and ship has been stunning. Developments have included high- security – the American position is likely to be similar whether the R profile visits to Taipei by the U.S.