Lai Ching-te, who won Taiwan’s presidential election last Saturday, will be facing a crossroads in the country’s technology industry when he takes office in May. Lai’s administration will be the third term of Democratic Progressive Party rule in Taiwan, and he is widely expected to continue the work of his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen, when it comes to supporting one of the country’s biggest economic drivers and most valuable exports: its semiconductor industry. Lai has also pledged to create 20,000 startup jobs within five years, but has given little detail on how he plans to achieve that.
A Taiwanese business index which provides an economic outlook for the next half year declined for a 12th straight month in October, signalling no quick end to disruptions in mainland China.