Since Ma Ying-jeou was inaugurated as president on May 20, 2008, tensions across the Taiwan Strait have noticeably subsided and, this week, a Taiwanese official will attend a meeting of the World Health Assembly in Geneva for the first time since 1971, when Beijing took over the China seat in the United Nations.
Taiwan's economic performance in the past year has been poor, largely because of the international environment. Instead of 6% growth as candidate Ma promised, Taiwan is in the midst of a recession, with unemployment at a record 5.8%.
