What is the measure of a country? Is it territory or population, or is it the way its light shines in the international community? In this month’s Taiwan Panorama, you will see an island that is small but resilient, using its astonishing capabilities in the fields of sports, artisanship, science, and technology to display its excellence to the world.
This excellence is visible in athletics, in which human limits are put to the test. At the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China, where the outdoor tug-of-war field was waterlogged and muddy, Taiwan’s women’s tug-of-war team displayed incomparable toughness by winning the gold medal for the sixth straight time. Paiwan powerlifter Yang Sen also stunned the world: Having honed his innate physical strength through rigorous solitary training, he ultimately lifted 453.5 kilograms in the squat at the World Games, nearly four times his own body weight.
This excellence is also evident in the meticulous flavors of Taiwan’s food. Chocolatier Queenie Wu has combined Taiwanese mulberries, tea, and even ginger lilies with chocolate, winning six Gold Awards from the International Confectionery Association in four annual competitions (the most golds of any Asian chocolatier). Meanwhile, “Jam Queen” Ke Ya, who calls fruit jams “love letters written by the land,” has bottled the Nanzhuang orange, winning a coveted Double Gold award at the UK’s Dalemain World Marmalade Awards and enabling the jury to experience the profundity of Taiwan’s terroir through their tastebuds.
This excellence also extends to the far reaches of the universe and the cutting edge of digital technology. The BURSTT project, led by Taiwan, is using innovative wide-angle radio telescope technology to play a critical role in world astronomy as it pioneers the localization of “fast radio bursts” (FRB) coming from deep space. Meanwhile, Taiwan has independently developed the “Trustworthy AI Dialogue Engine” (TAIDE). This “sovereign AI” not only can accurately respond to questions about local knowledge in Taiwan, it also has a role to play in preserving endangered Indigenous languages such as Truku and Tsou. More than just cold algorithms, this technology has the important mission of keeping cultural heritage alive.
Each in their own way, the people of this island are taking the “local” to the level of the “international.” This issue of Taiwan Panorama records not only gold-medal glory but also the inexhaustible creativity and vitality of this land.
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