President Ma Ying-jeou spoke on Sunday about how the international community had acknowledged Taiwan’s economic performance. He was referring to the country’s inclusion last November in Global Finance Magazine’s list of the world’s richest nations.
The magazine ranked Taiwan 19th in the world, ahead of countries like the UK, Japan and South Korea. That’s in terms of GDP, based on per capita purchasing power parity.
President Ma said that it was a sign of recognition from abroad, rather than just Taiwan patting itself on the back. He also spoke about how a German foundation – BTI – had recently ranked Taiwan 1st in the world in terms of Economic Transformation, and 3rd for Political Transformation, both in 2016.
The president’s remarks came Sunday during a visit to a Taoist temple in Taichung, central Taiwan. He spoke about how he had visited the temple six times since taking office, and how moved he was to see the faithful praying for the future of the nation.