iii Perspectives Perspectives on Business and Economics is the journal of the Martindale Student Associates Honors Program founded and run by the Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise at Lehigh University. Each year, a faculty panel selects 12 of Lehigh’s finest undergraduate students to become Martindale Student Associates. Each student undertakes research focusing on an aspect of the economy and business environment of a foreign nation or state and prepares an article for publication. The region of focus changes each year. Taiwan is a thriving democracy in the shadow of the People’s Republic of China. During the Taiwan trip, May 19–June 1, 2024, the students and faculty of the Student Associates Honors Program explored the complexity of the island’s history, policies, culture, identity, and food. The busy agenda included visits to Taipei, Sun Moon Lake, Hsinchu, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. Taipei, the largest city in Taiwan, includes the gleaming Taipei 101 tower and narrow alleys with hot and steamy night markets. The first day started with visits to the National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and Taipei 101 Observatory and dinner at the famous dumpling restaurant Din Tai Fung. Sessions in Taipei included Emerging Asia Hologic, Inc. (health care), Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), National Taiwan University (agriculture department and a rice paddy farm), Taiwan Sustainability Hub, National Science and Technology Council, Ministry of Education, i2i Innovation to Industry incubator at the Nankang Software Park, New Bloom independent news, Ghost Island Media, The Lightened coffee shop (owned by entrepreneur and social advocate Annie Huang), Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (energy security), Deloitte (taxes and economy), Chinese Culture University (cross-strait relations and China’s disinformation campaign), and Firelight Akademia. Hsinchu, technology capital of Taiwan, included visits at TSMC museum, Hsinchu Science Park, and RichWave Technology. Then onto Tainan via the high-speed rail. Tainan, the first capital and most historic city of Taiwan, included visits to National Cheng Kung University (housing issues, criminal justice, and IP), Tainan’s Bureau of Economic Development, City of Tainan government office, and a walking tour. On the way to Kaohsiung, the group stopped at the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum and the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas. In Kaohsiung, the Martindalers sailed through the Port of Kaohsiung on the port yacht equipped with a boardroom courtesy of Taiwan International Ports Corporation. Taiwan was a fantastic experience. In New York City, October 2024, the cohort visited the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office for discussions on economy, trade relations, and tourism in Taiwan. The next session was at the Council on Foreign Relations, where David Sacks, fellow for Asia Studies, elaborated on cross-strait relations and defense issues in Taiwan. Then, at the Taiwan Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the group was briefed on the Taiwan’s macroeconomy. Special thanks The Martindale Center acknowledges the critical role played by alumni, parents, friends, and many experts in the US and in Taiwan who shared their time and expertise as advisors and speakers to help make the 2024–2025 program and volume 43 a success. Thanks to Jon McMillan '98, head of strategic development for Emerging Asia Hologic, Inc., for his commitment to the Martindale students in conducting a session on the health-care system in Taiwan, reviewing student articles for feedback, and writing the journal introduction. Special thanks to the following individuals, who connected the group to contacts for the semester sessions and the NYC and Taiwan trips: Lishan Chang (deputy-director general), ML Yang (director, Education Division), and Shih-Chia (Scott) Yeh (director, Trade and Investment Office), Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in NYC; Chia-Ying Ma '94, professor, Soochow University; Hsin-yi Ouyang, former VP of student affairs, Chinese Culture University; Adrienne Wu, program manager, Global Taiwan Institute; Jon Huang, CEO, Open AI Fab; Wan-Chen (Lila) Chung, CEO, Taiwan Sustainability Hub; Don Merino, founder and partner, Asia Patent Group; and, at Lehigh University: Chad Meyerhoeffer, professor and economics department chair; Daniel Ou-Yang, professor and director, Emulsion Polymers Institute; and Khanjan Mehta, Vice Provost for Creative Inquiry, Lehigh University.
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