So excited to be part of the Stanford Taiwan Program event at National Taiwan University today! It's such an honor to connect with amazing minds and be part of this important collaboration between Taiwan and the US.
The Stanford Taiwan Program started just last year as part of Stanford's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. It's amazing to see Taiwan getting this recognition as a country from a world-class institution like Stanford! This partnership really highlights Taiwan's importance in the Asia-Pacific region and opens up so many opportunities for academic & commercial exchange.
To me, one of the program's main goals is tackling the challenges Taiwanese entrepreneurs face with fundraising and growth as they go after the global market. We need to make it easier for both local and foreign entrepreneurs to start companies in Taiwan, similar to places like Singapore or Silicon Valley.
As a stepping stone idea, I hope to push for a hybrid model in this interim period that bridges together the amazing engineering talent in Taiwan with the brilliant entrepreneurs from outside Taiwan that already have secured funding with their innovative ideas. The program is looking at ideas like special economic zones to simplify processes and encourage experimentation.
Yes, there's always a risk of failure when trying new things, but with support from leaders like Director Raymond Greene (AIT), Minister Chia-lung Lin (MOFA), NTU's Executive VP Shin-Torng Ding, and APARC Director Gi-wook Shin, we're off to a great start!
Looking forward to the Taiwan Program's 2026 event!