| Jan. |
12 |
In the seventh legislative elections, the Kuomintang (KMT) wins 81 out of 113 seats and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) takes 27. The Non- Partisan Solidarity Union garners three seats, while the People First Party and an independent win one seat each. |
|
|
Both the DPP’s referendum on recovering the KMT’s alleged ill-gotten assets and the KMT-initiated referendum on empowering the Legislative Yuan to investigate corruption involving high-ranking government officials fail to reach the threshold of 50-percent voter turnout required by the Referendum Act. |
|
14 |
The Republic of China severs diplomatic
ties with Malawi after 42 years
of official relations. |
|
15 |
In the 2008 Index of Economic Freedom
jointly released by the Heritage
Foundation and The Wall Street Journal,
Taiwan ranks 25th in the world. |
|
16 |
Freedom House releases its annual
worldwide survey on political rights
and civil liberties, listing Taiwan
among the freest countries in 2007. |
|
19 |
Housing 4,500 species and varieties
of tropical plants, the Dr. Cecilia
Koo Botanic Conservation Center is
opened. The center aims to preserve
30,000 species over 20 years. |
|
24 |
Led by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung,
the Cabinet resigns en masse. President
Chen Shui-bian rejects the resignation
Jan. 28. |
| |
25 |
The Global Forum on New Democracies is held in Taipei. Participants include President Chen and former presidents Francisco Guillermo Flores Perez of El Salvador, Kim Young-sam of South Korea, Lech Walesa of Poland, Emil Constantinescu of Romania and F.W. de Klerk of South Africa. |
| Feb. |
2 |
President Chen visits Taiping Island in the South China Sea and proposes the “Spratly Initiative,” urging all neighboring countries to cooperate in regional environmental protection. |
|
11 |
The largest-ever group of mainland Chinese tourists without dual nationalities to travel to Taiwan via another country— 659 in total—arrives at Keelung Harbor aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas. |
|
19 |
The ROC officially recognizes Kosovo’s declaration of independence. |
| |
24 |
National Defense Minister Lee Tien-yu resigns and Michael Tsai is sworn in as his replacement Feb. 25. |
|
26 |
The 116-piece exhibition “Imperial Treasures: Masterpieces from the National Palace Museum, Taiwan” opens at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. |
| Mar. |
1 |
The free-trade agreement between the ROC and El Salvador takes effect. |
| |
3 |
The second series of “Taiwan to the World,” including documentaries titled “Super Pigs,” “The Black Dragon,” “Black Bears Unleashed,” “Space Crag” and “Kung Fu Secrets,” begins broadcasting on the National Geographic Channel. |
| |
4 |
Seventy-four Taiwanese designs win at the 2008 iF product design awards in Hanover, Germany. |
| |
13 |
Taiwan’s Larry Chen wins the Grand Prize at the International Bicycle Design Competition held in Taipei. |
| |
15 |
The ROC government condemns mainland China’s response to demonstrations that began in Tibet March 10. |
| |
19 |
At an international robot contest in Japan, five students from National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences win two gold and two silver medals and eight special awards. |
| |
22 |
The KMT’s Ma Ying-jeou and his running mate Vincent C. Siew win the presidential election, taking 58.45 percent of the votes. |
| |
|
The two referendums on Taiwan’s bid to join the United Nations fail to reach the required threshold of participation by at least 50 percent of the electorate. |
| Apr. |
6 |
A total of 28 Taiwanese students score top marks in the American Mathematics Competition. |
|
12 |
Vice President-elect Vincent Siew meets with mainland Chinese leader Hu Jintao at the Boao Forum for Asia held on Hainan Island April 11-13. |
|
|
The 2008 World Summit of Indigenous Cultures kicks off in Taipei County, with around 150 aboriginal representatives and scientific researchers from Asia, Europe and North America attending. |
| |
23 |
The Sediq people are officially recognized as Taiwan’s 14th indigenous group. |
| |
25 |
The Legislative Yuan approves a revision to the Labor Standards Act that raises the mandatory retirement age for insured workers from 60 to 65. |
| |
29 |
Essayist and human rights activist Bo Yang (Kuo Yi-tung) dies of lung disease at 78. |
| |
|
Freedom House ranks Taiwan as a country with the freest press environment in Asia. |
| May |
6 |
Vice Premier Chiou I-jen, Foreign Minister James Huang and Deputy Defense Minister Ko Cheng-heng step down over the disappearance of US$30 million in an attempt to establish diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea. |
|
7 |
The ROC’s public and private sectors donate medical supplies and a total of US$500,000 to assist Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis swept across the Irrawaddy Delta, claiming more than 28,000 lives. |
|
14 |
Taiwan ranks 13th for overall global competitiveness in the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 2008. |
|
|
The ROC government announces a US$64.5-million aid package for mainland China after a 7.8-magnitute earthquake hit Sichuan May 12. |
|
20 |
Ma Ying-jeou and Vincent C. Siew are sworn in as the 12th-term President and Vice President of the Republic of China, respectively. The Cabinet led by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan is also sworn in. |
|
28 |
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao meet in Beijing, marking the highest level of contact between the two parties in 60 years. |
| June |
4 |
Chen Kai-feng of National Taiwan University is one of the two researchers winning the first Young Scientist Prizes in Particle Physics awarded by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. |
|
12 |
The Legislative Yuan approves an amendment to Articles 38 and 92 of the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, allowing limited exchanges between the New Taiwan Dollar and the yuan at Taiwan’s banks. |
|
13 |
Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and mainland China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin seal landmark accords in Beijing, paving the way for more mainland tourists to visit Taiwan and authorizing the commencement of direct weekend charter flights from July 4. |
|
30 |
The Government Information Office announces that mainland China’s Xinhua News Agency and People’s Daily may resume posting correspondents in Taiwan after a three-year hiatus, with the period of stay extended from one month to three months. |
| July |
17 |
The Executive Yuan raises the cap on mainland China-bound investment for Taiwanese companies from 40 percent of their net worth to 60 percent, and for individual investors from US$2.67 million per year to US$5 million. |
|
|
The Legislative Yuan approves amendments to the Labor Insurance Act and the National Pension Act to ensure that people are well looked after in their retirement |
| Aug. |
8 |
The Lobbying Act comes into force, making Taiwan the third country in the world to enact such legislation after Canada and the United States. |
|
12 |
President Ma embarks on a trip to Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. |
|
|
The Taiwan Communist Party becomes the ROC’s 141st political party. |
|
21 |
Former Economic Affairs Minister and China Steel Corporation founder Chao Yao-tung passes away at 93. |
| Sept. |
4 |
Vice President Siew leads a delegation to Swaziland. |
|
7 |
Taiwan shares first place with South Korea in the 2008 International Earth Science Olympiad, winning two gold and two silver medals. |
|
9 |
The U.S.-based organization Business Environment Risk Intelligence ranks Taiwan as having the fifth-best investment environment out of the 50 countries evaluated. |
| Oct. |
1 |
The national pension system officially goes into effect. |
|
15 |
Wang Yung-ching, founder of Taiwan’s biggest and most profitable manufacturing conglomerate—Formosa Plastics Group—passes away at the age of 91. |
|
22 |
Taiwan ranks 36th in the 2008 Worldwide Press Freedom Index released by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders. |
|
23 |
Lee Yuan-tseh, former Nobel Prize laureate and president emeritus of Academia Sinica, is elected president of the Paris-based International Council for Science. |
|
28 |
Former Examination Yuan President Kung Teh-cheng, the 77th lineal descendant of Confucius, passes away at 89. |
|
|
Taiwan ranks 17th worldwide and first in Asia in the World Bank’s 2008 Knowledge Economic Index, which surveys 140 economies. |
| Nov. |
4 |
SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung and ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin ink four agreements, on direct air links, direct cargo shipping, postal services and food safety. |
|
10 |
Afghan human-rights activist Sima Samar is presented with the 2008 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. |
|
13 |
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation launches the Taiwan Shariah Index to attract capital from Islamic countries. |
| |
14 |
The Geneva-based Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation votes to admit Taiwan as a sponsoring member. |
| |
18 |
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan announces that in light of the global financial crisis, the government will issue consumer vouchers to stimulate the economy. |
| |
22 |
KMT Honorary Chairman Lien Chan represents President Ma at the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru. |
| Dec. |
4 |
The government announces a measure to allow mainland China’s institutional and individual investors to enter the nation’s stock and futures markets. |
|
9 |
Taiwan is invited by the World Trade Organization to become a signatory member of its Government Procurement Agreement. |
|
11 |
Yeh Shih-tao, the widely respected writer and author of “An Outline History of Taiwan Literature,” dies of cancer at the age of 83. |
|
14 |
The “Good-bye Screw” folding chair, designed by Shu-Te University Lecturer Chen Chung-tung, wins the 2008 Red Dot Design Awards in Germany. |
|
23 |
Two pandas from mainland China’s Sichuan Province arrive in Taipei, their new home. |
