Taiwan’s Energy Crisis Shows the Cost of Import Dependence

The issue of energy dependence and its consequences has, in recent months, become a major topic of discussion. The Hormuz crisis has brought energy security to the political agenda with a vengeance amid fuel price caps, rationing, and warnings of severe shortages.  A lot of countries have been used as examples of either low dependence and therefore insulation against shocks, or high dependence that has resulted in a lot of economic pain. In the latter category, Taiwan stands out as a particularly noteworthy case: the nation depends on imports…