The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) announced the winners of the 34th Taiwan Excellence Awards on November 26, showcasing an overall trend in Taiwan's industries toward high-value sectors such as smart manufacturing and health technology, with communications devices comprising more than half of all winning products.
Although Taiwan is now recognized worldwide for high-quality manufacturing, Minister for Economic Affairs Ming-hsin Kung highlighted the challenges in creating truly excellent products, and thus each award-winning product embodies Taiwan's robust capabilities and high competitiveness in innovation and R&D. Going forward, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will continue to promote premium Taiwanese products worldwide through overseas exhibitions hosted by TAITRA, and pursue a variety of global marketing strategies to cement Taiwan's position in the international supply chain.
TAITRA chairman James C.F. Huang recalled how "Made in Taiwan" was often synonymous with poor quality in the 1980s and 1990s, as can be seen with the shoddy umbrella in Fatal Attraction, a reflection of how Hollywood viewed Taiwanese products as a laughingstock at the time.
In 1991, the MOEA commissioned TAITRA to study ways to change this negative stereotype. After several months of consultations with foreign experts, TAITRA proposed the "Taiwan Excellence" initiative, which was approved by MOEA. Acer founder Stan Shih was one of the winners of the Taiwan Excellence Awards in 1994, as a sign of Taiwan's determination to break free from the stigma of cheap, low-quality manufacturing.
As Huang noted, the Ministry's decision had a profound impact on Taiwan's industrial sector, akin to the government's 1975 plan for semiconductor development. Since its original inception in 1991, the MOEA's "Taiwan Excellence" project has brought forth a growing number of award-winning products and companies, many of which have become renowned on the world stage, and all of which have inspiring stories to share.
At the 34th Taiwan Excellence Awards for 2026, the highest honor Gold Award, went to products from Hiwin Mikrosystem, Teco, Chroma ATE, Zinexts Life Science, Wellell, Phison Electronics, Asus, Everlight Chemical, and United Orthopedic.
Article translated by Kevin Wang and edited by Jack Wu
