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An American Flag Heirloom

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During this U.S. Fourth of July season, AmCham Taipei is pleased to share some family lore passed along by Chamber member Faye Angevine of Bai Win Mercantile Corp. The 45-star American flag shown above was owned — and probably made — by her great-grandmother, Effie Foster, and is currently on display in the lobby of the American Club.

Faye informs us that Effie Foster, related by marriage to the great songwriter Stephen Foster, was a participant in the first Oklahoma land rush of 1889. “She traveled with her daughter (my grandmother Mildred Foster) and a group of relatives from Salem, Massachusetts, and settled in Kingfisher, Oklahoma,” Faye writes. “I found the flag folded up at the bottom of my great-grandfather’s doctor’s bag while going through my Mom’s things after her death.” The stars are hand-stitched onto the flag (appliqué), while the stripes were sewn on with a pedal machine. (Because the stars were applied to the wrong side, the flag is displayed backward).

The 45-star flag became the official flag of the United States on July 4, 1896, following the admission of Utah to the union as the 45th state earlier that year. Three presidents served under that flag: Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. Later stars were added for Oklahoma (1907), New Mexico and Arizona (1912), and Alaska and Hawaii (1959).

2019 Member Survey Results: High level of satisfaction with AmCham Taipei

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Advocacy is the service most AmCham Taipei members value the most. The vast majority of the membership is satisfied with the organization. The events that interest them the most are industry forums and panel discussions. About half read our Taiwan Business TOPICS magazine at least once a month.

Those were the main takeaways from a survey that was sent to all AmCham members last month. The information was invaluable to the staff and Board of Governors. The feedback will be used to make adjustments and improvements so that we can better serve our members. The number of responses: 142 in 2019 vs 111 in 2017

Question 1: What services do you value most?

  • Advocacy 53.5%
  • Networking 14%
  • Information Sharing 15.5%
  • Events 6%
  • Publications 10.6%

Question 2: Overall, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with AmCham?

  • Very satisfied 27.5%
  • Satisfied 52%
  • Neutral 20%
  • Dissatisfied .7%
  • Very Dissatisfied 0%

Question 3: What kind of AmCham events interest you the most? (choose top 3)

  • Industry forums & panel discussions 83%
  • Talks by corporate leaders 75%
  • Speeches by government officials 65%
  • Networking events 31%
  • Professional development 19%
  • Field trips 19%

Question 4: How would you rate AmCham’s advocacy efforts?

  • Excellent 31%
  • Good 50%
  • Fair 11%
  • Poor 2%
  • Not applicable 7%

Question 5: How do you read Taiwan Business TOPICS magazine?

  • Hard copy 46%
  • Online 22%
  • Both 28%
  • Neither 4%

Question 6: How often do you read TOPICS online and/or in print?

  • Once a month 47%
  • A few times a month 25%
  • Less than once a month 20%
  • About once a week 6%
  • A few times a week 2.2%

AmCham greatly appreciates all members who participated in the survey. The organization aims to do a survey every year to gauge the membership’s interests and monitor the organization’s performance.

To thank the community for participating in the survey, a lucky draw contest was held and three lucky winners were selected:

  • Alex Lin from Herbalife
  • Ronald Chen from Santa Fe Relocation
  • Jay Yu from Monolithic Power Systems

The chamber always welcomes suggestions, complaints and encouragement from members. If you didn’t have a chance to complete the survey or have feedback you would like to share, please contact us here.

AstraZeneca Taiwan Announces Expansion Plans on 70th Anniversary

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AmCham Taipei member AstraZeneca Taiwan, the local arm of the global biopharmaceutical firm, celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding on September 25. It became one of the very first foreign investors in Taiwan when its forerunner, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) of the UK, set up operations in Taiwan in 1948 to bring an anti-malarial drug to this market, contributing to Taiwan becoming the first malaria-free area in the Western Pacific in 1965.

Zeneca, a spin-off from ICI, merged with Astra AB of Sweden in 1999 to form the current London-based company.

At a press conference and later at a reception at the Westin Hotel, AstraZeneca used the occasion of the anniversary observance to announce plans to invest an additional NT$1 billion (over US$32 million) in Taiwan over the next three years. AstraZeneca Taiwan president Simon Manners said the company will launch 10 new medicines by 2021, three of which have received priority approval from the Taiwan Food & Drug Administration. It will also triple its spending on clinical research and development in Taiwan and create more than 140 new jobs in medical affairs, clinical research, and marketing and sales, increasing the total workforce to 430 employees.

A statement from the company said the investment “reflects our commitment to address the unmet needs in non-communicable diseases, to enable high-value job creation, and to advance biopharmaceutical innovation in Taiwan.” The anniversary ceremony also involved the signing of a Letter of Intent with the Ministry of Science and Technology to help develop local R&D talent.

In an interview with AmCham Senior Director and Taiwan Business TOPICS Editor-in-chief Don Shapiro, Manners stressed the significance of AstraZeneca’s initiatives for Taiwan’s increasingly elderly population. He noted the company’s “rich pipeline of innovative new medicines” for such diseases as diabetes, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disorders – all illnesses that occur with greater frequency in older people. “The new medicines we are bringing will not only help people live longer, but also live longer with a good quality of life,” he said.

Manners also praised Taiwan as a location for conducting clinical trials, citing the excellent professionalism of its doctors and the high quality of the data produced. “We are the number one initiator of clinical trials in Taiwan of any multinational company, and the number two overall,” he said.

While visiting Taiwan for the anniversary festivities, Joris Silon, AstraZeneca’s Vice President for the Asia Area, told Shapiro that “we are very proud of our 70 years of heritage here.”

“This is a day of celebrating the very successful delivery of benefits to patients in Taiwan since 1948,” he noted. “It’s very exciting. Taiwan is an important part of our business, and we’re very committed to this market.”

2017 AmCham Membership Satisfaction Survey

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At AmCham Taipei, we are constantly working to deliver a great experience for our members and looking for ways to further improve our services. Between May 18 and June 23, we conducted a Membership Satisfaction Survey consisting of 12 questions. A total of 111 AmCham Taipei members responded to the survey with their feedback.

“The Membership Satisfaction Survey provides valuable insight into the needs of our members,” said Andrea Wu, president of the Chamber. “It serves as a benchmark for our performance and provides a comparative measure of our success from year to year.”

AmCham Taipei is grateful to all members who participated in the survey. As a token of our appreciation, a lucky draw contest was held, with prizes to three participants.

The Membership Satisfaction Survey not only reflects areas of success and needed improvement but also helps inform future AmCham Taipei initiatives and priorities. Future surveys will enable us to track the results of our member satisfaction efforts over time.

Here are the results of the 2017 Membership Survey (click images to enlarge):

Six Months of Success for the AmCham Lincoln Room

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Lincoln Room Happy Hour

In January of this year, AmCham Taipei officially announced the opening of the Lincoln Room, a venue built to serve as a multi-purpose function room for AmCham luncheons, meetings, social gatherings, and government visits, and more.

In the six months since its opening, the Lincoln Room has hosted numerous successful events, proving to be a valuable enhancement for AmCham’s event platform and yet another addition to the wide range of services and offerings it provides to Taiwan’s foreign business community.

New Opportunities

One of the most exciting new features of the Lincoln Room is the AmCham Marketplace, which provides a unique opportunity to host an event in a state-of-the-art business venue, with access to the most influential business community in Taipei.

Marketplace participants are able to leverage the Chamber’s robust marketing channels to promote their event and their message for maximum engagement. Learn more about the Marketplace here.

The Lincoln Room is also available as a rental venue.

Below are some highlights from Lincoln Room events that have taken place since its opening. The possibilities are endless!

Business Climate Survey Press Conference

Business Climate Survey Press Conference

The AmCham Lincoln Room served as the venue for the official release of AmCham’s annual Business Climate Survey in January.

Seminars & Workshops

bimonthly William Zyzo seminars

Bimonthly training seminars, conducted by AmCham Advance Learning Lab advisor William Zyzo. Recent topics include slide design, better job performance in the digital age, and design thinking.

Movie Screening

Movie Screening – Malala events 1

Documentary screening: THE GIRL WHO STOOD UP – Sharing by female leaders and pre-screenings of the new National Geographic documentary “He Named Me Malala” provided an excellent experience and discussion.

Happy Hours

Happy Hours – Quarterly Member Happy Hours

The Lincoln Room, equipped with a small kitchen area, is the new home for AmCham’s Quarterly Happy Hour celebrations as well as committee-specific social events.

Committee Discussions

Committee Discussions – HR committee afternoon discussion

AmCham Committees find the Lincoln Room an ideal venue for meetings and internal workshops.

Govt. meetings

Govt. meetings

A delegation of staffers to U.S. congressmen and senators visited AmCham in June, and were received in the Lincoln Room

Marketplace

Marketplace

The first official AmCham Marketplace Session, an informational session on Mortgage Market Design, took place in May.