In recent months, Taiwan has been taking steps via public diplomacy and public relations to bolster its argument that Taiping is naturally capable of habitation and is thus an island. Last month, it invited the international media to visit the island, where goats roam and fresh well water is available. 

Growing public and private sector efforts have seen Taiwan emerge as a significant provider of international humanitarian assistance and medical aid around the world. Medical diplomacy plays an important role in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to strengthen relations with partner nations. 

In February, Financial Times did a special report on the opening of the southern branch of NPM, saying that Taiwan is using “museum diplomacy” to improve its global standing and international visibility.  [...] Different from the Taipei Branch, the museum showcases permanent exhibitions on Asian art history, the shared regional heritage of tea, Buddhist art, textiles, history of Chiayi and holds temporary special expositions.

“Through these working holiday agreements, the government hopes to enhance our young people’s global competence, thereby boosting the nation’s competitiveness, as well as increase the self-reliance of Taiwan’s youth,” says Andrew Lee, deputy director-general of MOFA’s Public Diplomacy Coordination Council.

Taiwan is in the middle of an enormous national effort to promote its soft power, aiming both to improve and enrich society and at the same time stimulate growth in an era when it has lost many of the industries that drove the economy during the past 50 years as one of Asia’s original tigers.

In his first trip to the U.S. since assuming his duties as mayor of Taiwan's capital city in December 2014, Ko will visit San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, all of which are sister cities of Taipei, Lin said. A main focus of Ko's U.S trip will be to learn about industrial development in Silicon Valley in northern California.