Taiwan Regulation of Biobanks

Abstract

Taiwan is an island country situated in the northwest Pacific, close to the southeast of China. The land area is about 36,000 square kilometers. The population of Taiwan is about 23 million, and it consists of the majority Han ethnic groups (it can be further divided into Ho-ló, Hakka, and Mainlander) and dozens of minority groups who are collectively called “Formosan,” an appellation for indigenous peoples in Taiwan. Formosans can be divided into Pingpu (plain-land indigenous peoples) and Gaoshan (mountain indigenous peoples) by their living area. In recent years, marriages between Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Southeast Asians have increased significantly. Because of the genetic background of the Taiwanese people, it was thought to be highly beneficial for Taiwan to establish a biobank specifically designed for the Taiwanese population, as it would enable large-scale cohort studies to be carried out for common diseases occurring in Taiwan.