November 26: While campaigning, former President Ma Ying-jeou mentioned that many members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are involved in controversies surrounding academic integrity, including President Tsai Ing-wen's problematic dissertation. The London School of Political Science and Economics says that it does not have President Tsai's dissertation, which means that her dissertation does not exist, former President Ma stated. The Office of the President refuted this claim, stating that President Tsai obtained a doctoral degree from LSE through a rigorous process. This is an ironclad fact.
November 27: Nine major business groups organized an economic dialogue event with the presidential candidates (who each attended separately). Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih stated that he would restart the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) negotiations and hopes to help Taiwan join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) within four years. He also promised to open Taiwan to more mainland Chinese tourists and students if elected and provide opportunities for mainland students to work in Taiwan.
November 27: The Hon Hai Precision Industry Company announced that its Indian subsidiary plant will expand with an estimated investment of nearly NT$50 billion (about US$1.6 billion). It is speculated that this move is to prepare for the Apple iPhone's new product introduction (NPI) in India. This will be the first time that the iPhone has its NPI outside mainland China.
November 28: The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics released its latest economic forecast. Due to a severe decline in exports and sluggish private investment, Taiwan's estimated economic growth rate this year was revised down to 1.42 percent, a 14-year low and a sharp decrease of 0.19 percentage points from the August forecast of 1.61 percent. The economic growth rate for next year is estimated at 3.35 percent.
According to the National Development Council, the business climate signal for October also fell back to blue light, which indicates a sluggish economy.
November 29: Ambassador Bi-khim Hsiao, representative to the United States, resigned to run for office. President Tsai appointed Ambassador Alexander Yui, representative to the European Union and Belgium, as representative to the United States. His vacancy will be filled by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Chun. According to sources familiar with foreign affairs, Yui had studied abroad in and been posted to the United States for many years. The United States welcomes the appointment and affirmed that he is a very suitable candidate.
November 30: In an exclusive interview with the New York Times, President Tsai stated that the current Chinese leadership is facing great challenges from within, and now may not be the time for Beijing to consider large-scale attacks on Taiwan. In response, KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih stated that he would not take unrealistic positions and that he is pragmatic and stable on cross-strait issues. TPP presidential candidate Ko Wen-je stated that Taiwan needs a "tense but not too tense" relationship.
December 1: Foreign Affairs published a joint article authored by three heavy-weight scholars on U.S.-China relations: Bonnie Glaser, Jessica Chen Weiss, and Thomas Christensen. The authors opined that the United States should oppose unilateral changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, including China's military unification and Taiwan's pursuit of independence. The article also called on DPP presidential candidate William Lai to consider freezing the party's Taiwan independence charter if elected, so that his pledge to maintain the status quo would be weightier and more credible.
December 1: A poll released by the Reagan Foundation found that as many as 77 percent of Americans regard China as an enemy, showing a huge change in American attitude towards China. Some 72 percent of respondents stated that they would support the United States formally recognizing Taiwan if mainland China attacked Taiwan; 46 percent supported sending U.S. troops to help defend Taiwan.
