The Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI) is celebrating its first anniversary tomorrow with a forum that would include a keynote speech by former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and a conversation with Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), the international think tank born from the COVID-19 pandemic said.
Resilience and innovation, a name the founding members deliberated on for more than a year, symbolize the core values of the group, board chair Syaru Shirley Lin (林夏如) told the Taipei Times, adding that resilience, the ability to withstand or recover from difficulties, is passive and means nothing if there is no innovation to drive people forward.
According to the 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report released by the University of Pennsylvania, Taiwan has 44 think tanks, among which only the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research is ranked as a top think tank outside the US, at number 147.
Photo courtesy of the CAPRI
Almost all think tanks in Taiwan are affiliated with the government or a political party, or have one major donor, which Lin saw as an opportunity.
CAPRI received funding from organizations including the Fubon Cultural and Educational Foundation, Acer Foundation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, as well as individual donors to have a politically neutral stance.
“More think tanks will emerge in a mature democratic country,” Lin said, adding that CAPRI can be the pioneer that paves the way for more Taiwanese think tanks to contribute.
Being a pioneer also means that talent is scarce in the field, which was one of the difficulties it had when starting, she said.
Lin works with about a dozen young people from diverse places, who are moved by her passion to contribute to Taiwan, a team member said.
With expertise in cross-strait relations and a background in economics, Lin and her team focused on public health research during the first year of CAPRI’s work.
“Opportunities presented themselves,” she said.
As CAPRI was founded when the world was experiencing the pandemic, it partnered with the Reform for Resilience Commission and the World Economic Forum to conduct research related to COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific region.
Countries in the region needed good public health policies, she said, adding that public health was just a starting point for CAPRI.
Policymaking is never about a single field, and there should be priorities in the field of study to provide timely insight for the government, she said.
As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, CAPRI is ready to broaden its focus to mental health and vaccine hesitancy — fields that are closely linked to the pandemic, but more relevant to the post-pandemic era, she said.
CAPRI is conducting research to promote efficient and innovative policies in Taiwan, while giving the Asia-Pacific region a much-needed voice on the global stage, she said.
For example, in cooperation with the Brookings Institution as part of the Brookings Democracy in Asia project, CAPRI and local academics studied the pandemic responses in Taiwan, Australia, India, Japan and South Korea.
Although Taiwan’s relations with the US and Europe tend to gain more attention, Taiwan is a part of the Asia-Pacific region, and it should deepen ties with neighboring countries, she said.
There might still be a long way to go before Taiwan can join the WHO or be included in UN organizations, Lin said.
However, Taiwan cannot overcome shortcomings simply by joining international organizations, she said.
The nation should be prepared and wait for the right time, as without good governance, Taiwan would not survive even without the threat of war, she said.
In addition to providing evidence-based suggestions to policymakers, Lin said she hopes the information can reach the public too.
All CAPRI studies can be accessed online for free, and its forums are free and broadcast live online. It also has an internship program to nurture talent, she said.
When former American Institute in Taiwan chairman Richard Bush was invited to give a speech in Taiwan in March, the think tank chose National Taiwan University as the venue to encourage students to participate, she said.
CAPRI research partners, board members and advisers would attend tomorrow’s forum to share topics at the core of its research, including public health, talent and environmental supply chains, Lin said.
The forum would embody the two goals of CAPRI’s work: providing advice on democratic governance through research, as well as creating an innovative and resilient country, she added.
The forum, titled “Asia-Pacific: A Resilient Phoenix Rising From the Pandemic,” is to take place at Shangri-La Far Eastern Plaza Hotel from 8:30am to 1:30pm, with free admission.
Registration is required: https://event.cw.com.tw/2023capri-eng/#survey.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS