In 2002, Taiwan was a small island nation located off the coast of mainland China. It had a population of around 23 million people, predominantly of Han Chinese ethnicity, and was officially known as the Republic of China. The official language was Mandarin Chinese but Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka were also widely spoken. The Taiwanese economy was largely driven by its manufacturing sector which accounted for around 40% of its GDP in 2002. Other important industries included electronics, textiles, petrochemicals and tourism. Despite its wealth there were still some social issues such as gender inequality with women holding fewer positions in politics than men. In addition to this, there was also a high level of income inequality due to the large number of low-skilled migrant workers from mainland China who were often paid lower wages than local citizens. Education was free for all citizens up until university level and healthcare services were provided free of charge for all residents regardless of their nationality or income level. According to computerannals, Taiwan had achieved a high standard of living by 2002 while still striving towards greater social equality and economic prosperity for all its citizens.

Yearbook 2002

Taiwan. In early 2002, after many years of efforts, the country became a formal member of the World Trade Organization despite protests from China, which regards Taiwan as a Chinese breakaway republic. Just a few weeks earlier, China itself had joined the WTO.

In January, the country was given a new government after the parliamentary elections were held at the end of December 2001. According to Countryaah website, national day of Republic of China/Taiwan is every October 10. President Chen Shuibian’s independence-advocating Democratic Progressive Party had won in that election over nationalist Guomindang. The government’s main task was to gain momentum on the Taiwanese economy.

On May 25, the country suffered a major accident when a Taiwanese aircraft on its way to Hong Kong crashed into the sea off Taibei shortly after takeoff from the capital’s airport. All 225 passengers on board died, as did the entire crew.

Relations with China remained tense and in the summer, Taiwan warned that China was increasing its military spending and had expressed dissatisfaction that the reunification between countries was going too slowly. Country President Chen Shuibian supported the idea of holding a referendum on the island’s future status – independence or reunification with China – “when the time is right”.

In July, the small Nauru kingdom in the Pacific formed diplomatic relations with China. Through the agreement, the country recognized Taiwan as part of China. Nauru was one of the countries that had previously had diplomatic contacts with Taiwan, but these were canceled by the agreement with China. Thus, 27 countries in the world had diplomatic contacts with Taiwan.

At year-end 2002/2003, bans on disposable plates and disposable cutlery were introduced at all Taiwan’s restaurants. The year before, plastic bags were banned from all government stores. Environmental considerations were behind the bans.

November

Beijing-friendly news channel stopped

November 18

China-friendly TV channel Chung T’ien Television (CTI) is losing its broadcasting license. The National Communications Commission considers that CTI has failed to improve despite repeated warnings of bias and inaccuracies. According to the Commission, almost a third of the notifications received from the public concerned CTI. The main channel of the news channel, a rich businessman who also owns the food company Want Want with large investments in China, is said to have tried to influence the news reporting to become more pro-Chinese and positive to the Kuomintang. Representatives of the channel have said that they will try to appeal the decision, which they believe is politically based.

October

The United States sells new weapons to Taiwan

October 27

The US Department of Defense is giving the go-ahead for an arms deal with Taiwan. These include the sale of 135 cruise missiles, 11 rocket launchers and other types of weapons worth about $ 2 billion. Since the inauguration of President Trump, the United States has sold significantly more weapons to Taiwan than during previous US presidents, which has been met with strong protests by China. This time, Beijing is responding by announcing that sanctions will be imposed on US arms manufacturers, including Lockhead Martin, whose materials are included in sales to Taiwan.

Taiwan (China) Country Overview

Visas
Finnish citizen does not need a visa to travel to Taiwan for less than 90 days. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months from arrival in the country. In addition, the passenger must have a confirmed return flight ticket or flight ticket and a visa to the next destination and a confirmed Seat Reservation for the return flight.

• According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG, TWN stands for Taiwan.

Insurance
Everyone participating in the trip must have a valid travel insurance that covers medical expenses in the event of illness or other similar need. Please check the validity of your own insurance and the terms and conditions of the insurance cancellation cover.

Please pay attention to the special nature of your trip and check the coverage of the insurance in that respect as well. In many locations, the insurance must also be valid when moving at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, in which case it also covers mountain sickness.

Many hiking or diving trips require more extensive insurance, which covers, for example, diving or moving on a glacier. Please check the contents of your insurance with your insurance company.

Currency
The currency of Taiwan is the Taiwan Dollar (TWD). Max. TWD 60,000 / person. It is worth taking US dollars as a reserve currency. Credit cards are widely used as a means of payment and there are plenty of ATMs in the cities. Check currency availability and exchange rate at www.forex.fi.

Vaccinations
Check that your basic vaccination and hepatitis vaccination according to the national vaccination program are valid. Please always check the vaccination requirements at your health center or the vaccination advice of the tourist clinic

Climate
Taiwan’s climate varies around the island due to altitude differences. May to August is often hot and humid. The highest rains occur in several June and in June-October there is a risk of typhoons.

Travel Seasons
The best time to travel is September to November, when the climate is favorable.

All times are
GMT +8

Electric current
The electric current is 110V. For devices used in Finnish sockets, an adapter with two vertical flat ends is required.