1) The top story from the past week in Taiwan was the visit to Taipei by the top US official in charge of relations with Taiwan. The official – American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt – met with President Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei on Tuesday. After the meeting, Ma said that the state of US-Taiwan dialogue was at its best point in the last 20 years. That's because, Ma said, senior US officials reported to Taiwan officials at least three different times about President Barack Obama's recent visit to China.

This past week we also saw signs that the stalled talks on a US-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement could start up again next year. That was the word on Tuesday from the director of the AIT's Taipei Office, William Stanton. Stanton was speaking at a forum for US businesses in Taipei. The talks have been on hold for two years now, but Stanton said on Tuesday that they could begin again in the early part of next year. He also said that it would be Taipei's turn to host the talks next, saying that he hoped the talks could be expanded in scope. The trade agreement was also one of the main points discussed by President Ma and visiting AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt on Tuesday.

2) This past week we also saw signs of an improving economy here in Taiwan. The government's economics council said on Friday that Taiwan's economic climate saw a green light in October, a sign of stable growth. The council said this is the first time the economy has shown a green light in 18 months. The council said the economic growth in October was boosted by a strong performance in the stock market, improved industrial production and robust wholesale and retail sales.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's consumer confidence in November rose to a 19-month high, another sign that the nation's economy might be gradually recovering.

The government released other positive figures on Monday: they said that October exports showed the first positive growth since the global financial crisis began last year, and the economics ministry said export orders will continue to grow in the fourth quarter.

There were also signs of stabling unemployment. After three consecutive months of rising above six percent, October's unemployment rate fell to under 6%.

3) On Thursday the government announced a major development plan. The Cabinet passed a proposal to invest NT$3.99 trillion (about US$124 billion) in 12 major development projects. Premier Wu Den-yih said the projects would include the expansion of the nation's largest international airport which serves Taipei, Kaohsiung harbor in the south and a major science park in central Taiwan. Other items in the plan focus on urban and rural renewal and flood prevention. The plan still needs approval from the legislature.

4) A Taiwanese research team announced last week that it has developed a special microchip that can be implanted into the human body where it can control or relieve lower back pain. The new device is called an implantable pain control SOC ("system on chip"). It is equipped with two sophisticated electrodes which obtain energy from an external power source and then transmit electromagnetic waves to the spinal cord, to help alleviate back pain.