Taiwan

Taiwan
Flag
Location  Southeast Asia
Capital  Taipei
Area  35,980 sq km
Population  23,545,963

"All things come to those that wait"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 Taiwan became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), an organization commenced to deal with the rules of trade between nations, on 1 January 2002 as Chinese Taipei. January 2 January 3 January 4 January 5 January 6 January 7 January 8 January 9 January 10 January 11 January 12 January 13 January 14 January 15 Kaohsiung National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is the world's first solar-powered stadium which can generate its own electricity. The stadium has been constructed for The World Games, an international multi-sport event that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The construction of the stadium was completed in 2009 and on January 15, 2009 the lighting facilities were tested for the first time. January 16 Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-wen as its first female president in a historic general election held on 16 January 2016. Professor Chi-Huey Wong of Academia Sinica in Taiwan was named as the winner of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry on 16 January 2014 for his numerous and original contributions to the development of innovative methods for the programmable and applied synthesis of complex oligosaccharides and glycol-proteins. January 17 Taiwan's six-month-old panda cub Yuan Zai won the World Panda Personality Award for 2013 at an official award ceremony at Zoo Atlanta on 17 January 2014. January 18 Japanese budget airline Peach Aviation launched its new daily service between Osaka-Kaohsiung of Taiwan on 18 January 2014. January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22 January 23 Taiwan was ranked as the tenth most innovative country for 2014, with a total score of 83.52, according to the rankings released by Bloomberg on 23 January 2015. January 24 January 25 January 26 January 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 January 31 Scientists from Taiwan, China and Canada have discovered soft tissue sample inside a 195-million-year-old rib of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Lufengosaurus. The dinosaur fossil was discovered in China's Yunnan Province and was detailed in the journal Nature Communications on 31 January 2017.

February

February 1 February 2 February 3 February 4 February 5 February 6 February 7 February 8 February 9 February 10 February 11 Taiwan and China on 11 February 2014 held their first government-to-government meeting since splitting during a civil war in 1949. The meeting - a symbolic yet historic move between the former bitter rivals - was aimed to build mutual trust. February 12 February 13 February 14 February 15 February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20 February 21 February 22 February 23 February 24 February 25 February 26 February 27 February 28 February 29

March

March 1 March 2 March 3 March 4 March 5 March 6 March 7 March 8 March 9 March 10 March 11 March 12 March 13 March 14 March 15 March 16 Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying beat Chinese world number one Chen Yufei 21-19, 21-15 to win the All England Women’s Badminton Championship for the third time on 16 March 2020. March 17 March 18 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan won the women's singles title at the 2018 All England Open Badminton Championships beating Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. March 19 Taiwan and Saint Lucia on 19 March 2014 signed a cooperation agreement in the area of information and communication technology. Taiwanese actor Lawrence KO won the Best Supporting Actor honor at the 6th Asian Film Awards for his role in the movie Jump! Ashin. The awards ceremony took place on 19 March 2012 in Hong Kong. March 20 March 21 Taiwan Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan was voted for the World's Best Airport Immigration by air travellers at the 2018 Skytrax World Airport Awards. Taiwanese actor Mark Chao Yu-Ting won the Best Newcomer award for his performance in "Monga", a Taiwanese film, at the 5th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on March 21, 2011. March 22 March 23 President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-Wen was named as one of the greatest leaders, according to Fortune Magazine's 2017 list of The World 50 Greatest Leaders. March 24 March 25 March 26 March 27 Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 8th Asian Film Awards in Macau on 27 March 2014. March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31

April

April 1 April 2 April 3 April 4 April 5 April 6 April 7 April 8 An international team of astronomers, including scientists from Taiwan, has detected two new Be stars residing in the open cluster NGC 6830, located some 5,300 light years away from earth. Their findings, could shed new light on the presence of this type of star in old open clusters like NGC 6830, were reported on 8 April 2016. April 9 April 10 An international team of scientists, including researchers from Taiwan, has excavated 190-million-year-old dinosaur embryos in China. The fossils unearthed in China belonged to Lufengosaurus, a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur known for its gigantic size, with adults growing up to 9m (30ft) long. Their findings were published on 10 April 2013 in the journal Nature. April 11 Taiwan's parliament on 11 April 2017 approved a bill banning the slaughter of cats and dogs for human consumption. April 12 April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16 Doctors at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) has successfully performed the world’s first heart transplant in which the donor organ never stopped beating, as revealed on 16 April 2025. April 17 April 18 April 19 April 20 April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 25 April 26 April 27 April 28 April 29 April 30

May

May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 Taiwanese tennis player Yung-Jan Cha and Swiss star Martina Hingis were crowned champions of the 2017 Mutua Madrid Open women’s doubles after beating Hungarian player Timea Babos and the Czech Andrea Hlavackova in two sets in the final 6-4, 6-3. Taiwan placed 4th in the global school ranking published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as revealed on 13 May 2015. May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 The Taiwanese team of students and company representatives won 124 medals in the 22nd International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) in Malaysia, according to the official results released on May 21, 2011. May 22 May 23 May 24 Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-hsien won the Best Director award at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on 24 May 2015 for his film The Assassin. May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31

June

June 1 June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5 June 6 June 7 June 8 June 9 June 10 National Taiwan University ranked 17th at the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2015. June 11 June 12 June 13 June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 June 18 Taiwanese airline EVA Air was voted the World’s Cleanest Airline at the 2019 Skytrax World Airline Awards. June 19 June 20 Taiwanese international airline EVA Air won the World’s Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness award at the SKYTRAX 2017 World Airline Awards. June 21 June 22 June 23 June 24 June 25 June 26 Taiwan FactCheck Center was awarded the Best correction achieved award by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies' International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) on 26 June 2020 for debunking a video that falsely claimed to show vote rigging taking place during Taiwan's national elections. June 27 June 28 Taiwanese singer-songwriter Cheer Chen won the Best Music Video award at the 2014 Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan for her song Gypsy in Memory. June 29 June 30

July

July 1 July 2 July 3 July 4 July 5 July 6 Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh and Peng Shuai of China won the Wimbledon Ladies' Doubles title on 6 July 2013 with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 win over Australian duo, Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. Hsieh became the first player from Taiwan to win a Grand Slam title. July 7 July 8 July 9 July 10 Taiwan signed a free trade agreement with New Zealand on 10 July 2013 aimed at boosting mutual economic gains. It was Taiwan's first free trade agreement with a developed country. July 11 July 12 July 13 Taiwanese students won four gold and two bronze medals in the prestigious 2014 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Cape Town, South Africa. Team NTHUCS from Taiwan won the first place in the Embedded Development category at the 2011 Microsoft Imagine Cup, world’s premier student technology competition, honoring student innovations that address global problems. They demonstrated a project that computes the safest fire escape routes, detected by a wireless sensor network in real time. July 14 July 15 On 15 July 1987, thirty-eight years of martial law ended in Taiwan. It had been the longest period of martial law ever recorded in human history. The martial law was imposed in 1949 which prevented the Taiwanese even to form any opposition political parties. July 16 July 17 July 18 Taiwanese international airline EVA Air won the World's Best Airport Services award at the prestigious 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Professor Chih-hao Hsieh from the Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University was awarded the 18th Biwako Prize for Ecology on 18 July 2015 for his interdisciplinary approach to integrate theory, empirical data, and analyses for solving environmental issues, such as fisheries, eutrophication, and environmental changes impacting on ocean and lake ecosystems. July 19 July 20 July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau was announced as the winner of the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award 2013 for the entry of “International Spotlight Northern Region - 88 Useful Tips” in the Travel Journalism - Guidebook category. July 26 Chen Shu-Chu from Taiwan was announced as of one of the recipients of the prestigious 2012 Ramon Magsaysay Award for the pure altruism of her personal giving, which reflects a deep, consistent, quiet compassion, and has transformed the lives of the numerous Taiwanese she has helped. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel Prize. July 27 July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31

August

August 1 August 2 August 3 August 4 August 5 Papua New Guinea has the highest plant diversity of any island in the world, botanists from Taiwan and their international colleagues have discovered. Their findings were published on 5 August 2020 in the journal Nature. August 6 August 7 A team of astronomers, including Taiwanese researchers, has uncovered a population of 39 massive ancient previously unknown galaxies — and they could inform our understanding of everything from the universe’s birth to the nature of dark matter. Their findings were published in the journal Nature on 7 August 2019. August 8 August 9 August 10 August 11 August 12 August 13 An international team of scientists, including researchers from Taiwan, has uncovered unique inscriptions in a cave in China that describe how droughts affected the local population over the past five centuries, and underline the importance of implementing strategies to deal with climate change in the coming years. Their findings were presented in the journal Scientific Reports on 13 August 2015. August 14 August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 August 19 August 20 August 21 August 22 August 23 August 24 August 25 August 26 August 27 August 28 Tzuying Tai of Taiwan won Women's Singles Badminton gold at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on 28 August 2018. August 29 August 30 Kaiwen Yu and Chuling Cheng of Taiwan won Mixed Doubles Soft Tennis gold at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on 30 August 2018. August 31

September

September 1 September 2 Taiwanese graphic designer Liu Ching-wei won the 2015 Japanese Illustration Award Grand Prix for his entry The Little Bag, featuring a series of illustrations that tell the story of a bag's journey. September 3 Taiwan and Nicaragua signed a defence co-operation agreement to strengthen bilateral military support, as reported on 3 September 2017. September 4 September 5 September 6 September 7 September 8 September 9 Taiwan’s Chan Yung-Jan and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis won the 2017 U.S. Open women’s doubles tennis title beating Czech duo Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-2. September 10 September 11 September 12 September 13 September 14 September 15 September 16 Taiwanese film Cities of Last Things won the prestigious Platform Prize at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. September 17 September 18 September 19 September 20 September 21 September 22 September 23 Taiwan’s Lin Tzu-chi won gold in the women’s 63-kilogram weightlifting competition at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon with a world-record combined weight of 261 kg. September 24 September 25 September 26 September 27 September 28 September 29 September 30

October

October 1 October 2 October 3 October 4 October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 October 9 October 10 October 11 October 12 October 13 Lin Nien-Tzu of Taiwan was included in the BBC global list of 100 inspirational and innovative women for 2017 for establishing a workshop in Nepal to provide local women clean and affordable cloth sanitary napkins. October 14 Taiwan was ranked as the eighth Most Empathetic Country in the world according to a study by Michigan State University published on 14 October 2016. The study measured people’s compassion for others and their tendency to imagine others’ point of view. October 15 October 16 A research team led by National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan has developed Taiwan’s first and the world’s smallest quantum computer, using a single photon, is the size of a desktop PC and can work at room temperature, the university revealed on 16 October 2024. October 17 October 18 October 19 October 20 October 21 October 22 October 23 October 24 October 25 October 26 October 27 October 28 October 29 October 30 October 31

November

November 1 November 2 November 3 November 4 November 5 Taiwan and Poland on 5 November 2014 signed an agreement on youth cultural and educational exchanges that paves the way for a working holiday program that is set to be launched early next year. November 6 November 7 Taiwan signed a free trade deal with Singapore, its first with a Southeast Asian country, on 7 November 2013. The agreement is likely to eliminate or remove most tariffs on exports between the countries when it enters into force. November 8 November 9 November 10 November 11 November 12 November 13 November 14 November 15 November 16 November 17 November 18 November 19 November 20 November 21 November 22 November 23 November 24 November 25 November 26 November 27 November 28 November 29 Taiwanese students secured the third place at the global maths and science ranking, according to the International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) released on 29 November 2016. November 30

December

December 1 December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 December 6 Taiwan secured the fourth position at the 2016 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) global education survey, which evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems. December 7 The first female leader of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen was ranked 9th on 2021 Forbes' list of the Most Powerful Women in the World. December 8 December 9 December 10 December 11 Taiwan won two prizes at the 2014 Asia Television Awards in Singapore, with one going to actress Hsieh Chiung-hsuan for best actress in a supporting role in the drama Lonely River. The other award went to Taiwan Public Television Service for its animated show Spiny Shiny Grocery Store. December 12 December 13 December 14 December 15 December 16 December 17 December 18 December 19 December 20 December 21 December 22 December 23 December 24 December 25 December 26 December 27 December 28 December 29 December 30 December 31

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