Below is an article published by Life Science News:

Ties between Taiwan and the Netherlands go back a long way; way back in fact to when a Dutch colonial government ruled the island from 1624 to 1662. Its last stand at Fort Zeelandia at the site of today's Tainan City, falling to General Koxinga's army from China, put an end of 37 years of rule over local aboriginal and Han Chinese inhabitants.

Today, relationships happily are on much better terms. Trade and cultural ties between the two nations are strong. Taiwan exports to the Netherlands totaled US$4.6 billion last year, being mostly of consumer electronics goods. From the Netherlands, imports totaled US$2.9 billion in 2011, with more than 450 investment cases in Taiwan with a total investment of over US$18.4 billion to date.

In recent years, one industry sector in particular stands out as being the beneficiary of growing cooperation between the two countries and is a reflection of a special kind of synergy that has been building. That industry is the life sciences.

More and more, Taiwan's drug development and medical devices companies are building research and business ties with their counterparts in the Netherlands. And these are bilateral ties, with benefits being truly two-way. Biotechnology companies from Taiwan have been setting up operations at Holland's Leiden Bio Science Park, and Dutch companies are beginning to look to Taiwan not only as a market in itself and for its position as a potential stepping stone to China and the rest of Asia, but also as a new location for sourcing technology, investment and manufacturing partnerships.