Bringing Taiwan and India closer
Physically, Taiwan and India are quite some distance apart—the time difference is two and a half hours, and flights between them take seven and a half hours. Despite this, says Tien, since Narendra Modi became prime minister of India, the relationship between the two countries has become noticeably closer.
Under Modi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came out victorious in the 2014 general election, defeating the long-incumbent Indian National Congress.
As prime minister, Modi has launched a number of policies to promote the growth of Indian industry, including the “Make in India,” “Smart Cities Mission,” “Startup India” and “Skill India” policies, as well as visiting a number of countries and raising India’s profile on the international stage.
Taiwan and India first set up representative offices in each other countries in 1995. Since then, the relationship has been firm and friendly, and has made particular progress since Modi became prime minister. In 2016‡2017, bilateral trade was valued at some US$5 billion, a more than five-fold increase on the 1995 figure of US$900 million. Tien remarks that what is responsible for this change is the timely coincidence of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy and India’s Act East Policy.
In fact, there is much that is complementary about trade between India and Taiwan—India is a powerhouse in software technology, while Taiwan boasts advanced hardware technology and high-tech production capabilities. Research indicates that both countries have tremendous potential for cooperative growth in the areas of human resource development, distribution and retail, food processing, telecommunications, automobiles and automotive parts, and logistics. In May 2017, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India set up its “Taiwan Desk,” providing up-to-date business information as well as financial, tax and legal advice to Taiwanese firms looking to invest in India. The two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Scientific and Technological Cooperation a decade ago, with regular bilateral technology meetings held each year that have resulted in over 70 joint projects. And as the global influence of the Sinosphere strengthens, Taiwan’s status as a Mandarin-speaking country has become an invaluable foot in the door. As the only country to continue officially using traditional Chinese characters, Taiwan has established “Taiwan Education Centers” at seven renowned Indian universities, dispatching teachers to offer outstanding Mandarin education.
Tien also makes particular mention of the participation in Indian NGOs of young Taiwanese, and the work they’ve put in. When the 2014 Nobel Peace laureates were announced, one was the Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. Tien learned from a CNA reporter that Satyarthi had said in an interview, “I love Taiwan.” At first Tien was confused—generally people would just say that they “know Taiwan.” He later found out that in recent years a number of young Taiwanese have volunteered with Satyarthi’s NGO, developing close relationships with Satyarthi and his wife. As a result, Tien invited Satyarthi to visit Taiwan, an invitation that was immediately accepted, and in the January after receiving his Nobel Prize, Satyarthi did just that. Such an event had likely never happened before, and it was all thanks to the efforts of young Taiwanese, Tien stresses.
There are places for vehicles of all speeds in the streets of this land of opportunity.