The Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF) was established in August 2018 as Taiwan's first action-oriented think tank focused on promoting exchanges and cooperation with countries and economies of Southeast Asia and South Asia. The foundation is dedicated to advancing the comprehensive and diversified implementation of Taiwan's New Southbound Policy.
Since 2019, TAEF has been conducting an annual survey on the image of Taiwan and Taiwanese businesses, aimed at understanding the views, attitudes, and suggestions of civil societies in New Southbound partner countries. This information helps to inform subsequent efforts to improve and refine Taiwan's image and strategies. To date, surveys have been completed in Vietnam (2019), Indonesia (2020), Thailand (2021), Singapore (2022), and Malaysia (2023), with a survey in the Philippines planned for 2024. The results of these surveys indicate that Taiwan and Taiwanese businesses enjoy a prominent and positive image in these countries, gaining recognition from local communities.
From an economic perspective, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has confirmed that Taiwan has achieved significant results in Malaysia through the New Southbound Policy, with an estimated US$400 million in Taiwanese investments flowing into the country in 2023. According to Chih-Fang Huang, Chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the business relationship between Taiwan and Malaysia extends beyond semiconductor investments to include sectors such as precision manufacturing, logistics, and, more notably, emerging collaborations in the electric vehicle industry.
In terms of arts and culture, Malaysia and Taiwan have developed strong connections within the entertainment industry. Taiwan's Mandarin-language pop culture has undoubtedly had a significant influence on Malaysia's Mandarin music scene. The Golden Melody Awards, in particular, stand as an important platform where outstanding musicians gather and receive recognition for their achievements in Mandarin pop music. It is common to see Malaysian singers nominated for Taiwan's most prestigious music awards. This same attraction extends to the Taiwanese film industry, where many Malaysian talents have emerged and made a profound impact at the renowned Golden Horse Awards. As a result, Taiwan's entertainment culture is well familiar to Malaysian Chinese audiences, known for producing content that resonates with cultural affinities while being highly engaging. These characteristics were also emphasized by interviewees in the in-depth interviews conducted as part of this project.
In this survey, focus group interviews were also conducted, yielding valuable suggestions. Respondents from various countries expressed a strong desire for Taiwan to increase its engagement in the Southeast Asian region and recognized the positive impact of the New Southbound Policy. The results of the Malaysia survey this year show that Taiwan and Taiwanese businesses have garnered positive evaluations. From a semantic perspective, Malaysian respondents generally regarded Taiwan as "technologically advanced" (4.17 out of 5), "free and democratic" (4.04), and "friendly" (3.92). They also considered Taiwanese businesses as "trustworthy" (3.98), "law-abiding" (3.91), and "innovative" (3.69). Furthermore, when comparing Taiwan's image with that of the top ten foreign investors in Malaysia, Taiwan ranked sixth (3.7 out of 5), while Taiwanese businesses ranked third (3.97), just behind Singapore (3.99) and Japan (3.98). In addition to these positive feedbacks, the survey results also suggested that Taiwan could further improve in areas such as active participation in international affairs, openness of mindset, and that Taiwanese businesses could put more effort into environmental protection (3.39) and fair treatment of workers (3.41) to achieve even better performance.
As Taiwan's think tank for the New Southbound Policy, the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation is dedicated to in-depth research on the policy and to enhancing its visibility and influence in the international community. We hope to transform the information gained from the image survey into policy recommendations for reference by the government and businesses, continuously improving Taiwan's international contributions and influence. Starting in 2024, the Foundation will more actively promote the New Southbound Policy+ initiative and its formulation, with the results of the Taiwan and Taiwanese businesses' image survey serving as vital input for the further enhancement of New Southbound Policy+.
Last but definitely not the least, we would like to express our special gratitude to Senior Research Fellow and the lead researcher of The Image of Taiwan and Taiwanese Businesses in Vietnam, Dr. Kristy Tsun-Tzu Hsu, for leading the TAEF team with great dedication in planning and executing this project. With the positive feedback and support from all sectors, the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation will continue to strive to promote more pioneering projects, shaping a new generation of regional partnerships for Taiwan under the New Southbound Policy+.
Dr. Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao
Chairman, Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation