Exclusive Interview with Syaru Shirley Lin, the Founder of CAPRI

The establishment of CAPRI was officially announced at WEF last year; CAPRI not only is the first international non-governmental organization to be headquartered in Taiwan but also brings the word “Taiwan” to the high-profile international arena that has always excluded it in the past.

At the same time, CAPRI has received the support of well-known enterprises in Taiwan, including Cheng-Han Education Charity Trust Fund affiliated with Fubon Group, Acer Foundation, and MediaTek as founding donors, followed by new donors TSMC and UMC. CAPRI will launch a series of projects with its substantial accumulated support this year.

“The expectations from the business sector are straightforward: Taiwan is well governed, but it can do better,” Syaru Shirley Lin, chair and founder of CAPRI, explained. Taiwan needs to look into governance around the world and learn the practices of other countries. “The point is to ask which system can bring the greatest benefit to its people and balance different interests in different political systems, whether democratic or not.” Lin believes that the essence of democratic governance is that it remains innovative and resilient throughout time; even if it fails this time, it can be improved quickly to prepare for the next challenge. “CAPRI has been helping Taiwan be better and build consensus among different voices.”