Taiwan, located at the boundary between the Philippine Sea and Eurasian tectonic plates, has mountainous terrain with rich geothermal resources. This month we focus on hot springs across Taiwan, and introduce local tourism resources centered on hot springs culture. Did you know that Beitou’s green sulfur hot springs contain radium? That Zhaori Hot Spring on Green Island has a special zone where visitors can boil hot spring eggs? That at hotels around Su’ao Cold Spring Park in Yilan you can take a “soda bath”? The answers to these questions and more can be found in this month’s Cover Story.
The Alishan Forest Railway was severely damaged by a series of storms starting with Typhoon Morakot in 2009, and was partially closed for 15 years. The whole of the line finally reopened to traffic in July of 2024. This issue includes a special report on the process of repairing tunnels and stations along the line, along with stories of cultural preservation and local memories. Meanwhile, the “slow food” movement in Taitung County, based on fostering local microenterprises, is now more than 12 years old. We ask Kuo Li-chin, organizer of the Taitung Slow Food Festival, and operators of local slow food businesses, to look back at these years and discuss their efforts to promote slow food culture.
We also visit the operations in India of two well-known Taiwanese firms, Advantech and TECO. Advantech has the world’s largest share of the global market for industrial personal computers, while TECO is the world’s third largest supplier of electric motors. Read about how Taiwanese firms are creating new economic miracles overseas.
The Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Joint Symposium of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, held only once each decade, took place in Asia for the first time ever in 2024, with Taipei as the host city. Symposium co-chair Hsu Wan-thai told us: “We hope to prove that Taiwan has many other things to be proud of besides just semiconductors.” Fellow co-chair Li Pai-chi describes to us the difficult path to winning the opportunity to host the event in Taipei.
The five-day symposium, which brought together 55 companies from around the world, was attended by 2,300 engineers, experts, and graduate students, and 1,600 peer-reviewed papers were presented. Besides bringing new energy to Taiwan’s related enterprises, the confab was a shot in the arm for Taiwan’s powerful sci-tech research sector, again making the “Made in Taiwan” brand shine on the international stage.
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