Taiwan’s private sector fully supports the ROC government’s punitive actions against Manila over its unsatisfactory response to the killing of a Taiwan fisherman by Philippines government personnel, according to local business and industrial associations.

Representatives of 11 Taiwan medical institutions and U.S.-based insurer Cigna International Corp signed an agreement May 15 in Taipei City clearing the way for more foreign nationals to access the country’s high-quality medical services.

With government assistance, local industry is positioning itself to take advantage of cloud-related hardware and software business opportunities.

<B>Taiwan is in the midst of a new wave of entrepreneurship.</B>

In recent years countries around the world have been actively encouraging entrepreneurship and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a means to stabilize domestic economies and create a solid foundation that will reduce the impact of crises.

appWorks Ventures is currently the most active Internet-oriented venture capital firm in Taiwan, as well as its largest private incubator. Its underlying premise is that the best way to speed entrepreneurship is to bring together capital and “incubation.”

iNDIE-VOX is Taiwan’s biggest indie music download platform. In 2012 alone, more than 20,000 songs by young artists were uploaded to iNDIE-VOX for sale, resulting in over 100,000 downloads. It’s a meeting place for Taiwanese musical creativity.

When Japanese IT juggernaut NEC Corporation invested US$5 million this past January into iPeen, a Taiwanese online culinary review site, it sent a veritable shockwave through the world of Taiwanese venture capitalism. It was the first time in recent years that an Internet startup had attracted so large a sum.

Much like their semi-namesake the koi (ornamental carp), Pin-koi is talented at revealing treasures from the depths, albeit the hidden depths of Taiwanese design rather than a fishpond. Founder Peter Yen, already experienced in the startup culture of Silicon Valley, chose to turn his technical prowess to connecting up with designers through the Internet. Now, in just three short years, Pin-koi has attracted over 7000 designers from Taiwan and abroad selling some 50,000-plus products, becoming a shining example of Taiwan as a design power-player.

Roughly 98% of Taiwanese businesses are SMEs. Though essentially unknown, many are “hidden champions” that occupy spots at the top of their industries. Medical devices manufacturer New Dean-tron-ics is a case in point. It is the world’s largest maker of electro-cautery instruments, accounting for 25% of the global market. Though a relatively small company, it is enormously influential in its field.

This month's story focuses on government’s efforts to help Taiwan industry elevate itself to a higher level of technology in order to assure its continued competitiveness

The emphasis for most hospitals will now be on attracting patients from China rather than the West.

A spate of problems two years ago has aroused more awareness by government and industry of the need to improve the working environment.

A review of some common employer-employee situations and how best to deal with them.

Travelers and merchants of centuries past—driving camels laden with silks, silver, and spices—made their way between Xi’an, China and points far to the west by following the Silk Road through the vast deserts of Central Asia.