Dr Shen Fu-Hsiung 沈富雄, Political and Economic Commentator

Dr Nathan Batto, Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica

Eric Huang 黃裕鈞, Section Head of International Affairs and Foreign Media of the KMT

Dr Ketty W Chen, Director of Research, Association of Public Issues Studies

Keith Menconi, ICRT News Anchor & Host  of Taiwan Talk and Taiwan This Week

No. 3, Lane 39, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N. Road, Taipei / 台北市中山北路二段39巷3號

Voters in Taiwan will go to the polls on 16 January 2016 to elect a new president and 113 legislators. The election campaign is already in full swing. Regardless of which candidate wins the presidency and which party wins control of the legislature, the new administration will face some tough challenges. The most immediate challenge is dealing with economic headwinds as a result of the global economic slowdown. In the face of globalisation, many Taiwanese firms are struggling to compete and will need to find ways to move up the value chain to survive.

Another challenge is cross-Strait relations following the historically-symbolic meeting on 7 November between ROC President Ma Ying-jeou and PRC President Xi Jin-ping. By all appearances the meeting was an historic breakthrough since it was the first time that sitting leaders of the Chinese Nationalists and Communists have met since 1945, before they embarked on a civil war that ended in 1949. Behind the symbolic handshakes and smiles, what is is the implication of the meeting for future cross-Strait relations? Taiwan's economic prospects are still closely tied to those of mainland China as the mainland is Taiwan's largest trading partner and by far the largest investment destination. The new administration will have to find a way to handle relations with China that balances the sometimes competing forces of China's rising global economic and political clout with Taiwan's economic interests and public opinion.

At the same time, Taiwan is facing very difficult medium and long-term challenges related to demographic changes, globalisation, energy security, healthcare, the environment, infrastructure development and securing talent. Dealing with these will require creative thinking, some tough decisions and courageous action on the part of the government.

Among other subjects, our panelists will discuss the following:

About the panelists

Dr Shen Fu-Hsiung is an experienced former Taiwan legislator and a sought-after economic and political commentator. He has served on several legislative committees and formerly held key posts in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), namely Executive Director of the Policy committee and Chairman of the Central Review committee. Dr Shen holds an medical degree from National Taiwan University and a PhD from the University of California.

Dr Nathan F Batto has been an Assistant Research Fellow for the Institute of Political Science Academia Sinica since November 2009 and an Assistant Research Fellow for the Election Study Center at National Chengchi University since February 2015. He was previously Assistant Professor of Political Science in the School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific from 2006-2009 and Dissertation Fellow at the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange from 2004-2005. He is an expert on politics in Taiwan and has written widely on the subject. He holds a PhD in political science from the University of California and a master's degree from National Chengchi University.

Eric Huang is the Section Head of International Affairs and Foreign Media of the KMT. He was previously an assistant of KMT Legislator Ting Shou-chung and a reporter. He worked on the campaign staff of Hung Hsiu-chu while she was a presidential candidate. He holds a degree in international relations from the University of Virginia in the United States.

Dr Ketty W Chen has been the Director of Research for the Association of Public Issues Studies since 2014. She was previously an Associate Professor at Collin College and Visiting Assistant Professor at Austin College. She holds a PhD in political science from the University of Oklahoma in the United States.