“The MOSAIC Model’s two core, non-invasive mechanisms capture only about one quarter of the AI dividend.
That is enough to fund a lower-middle-class guaranteed income floor and eliminate poverty, even under very high unemployment.
Capturing a larger share of the AI dividend — through less minimally invasive tools such as windfall taxes, AI-specific levies, or land and inheritance taxes — could raise the floor further, toward a universal high income.
The economics make higher floors possible. Whether to go there is a question for society to decide.”
“The UK could introduce a universal basic income (UBI) to protect workers in industries that are being disrupted by AI, the investment minister Jason Stockwood has said.
“Bumpy” changes to society caused by the introduction of the technology would mean there would have to be “some sort of concessionary arrangement with jobs that go immediately”, Lord Stockwood said.”
UBI Taiwan and Taiwanese sci-fi publisher SciFaSaurus jointly launched Island’s New Realities: Imagining UBI in Taiwan, unveiled on August 28 at the BIEN Congress in Brazil.
The book centers on the idea of Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) and brings together eight short stories and one short comic that explore near- and far-future worlds touching on AI and labor redistribution, gender and family relations, social safety nets, and civic participation, using literature as a way to expand policy imagination.
A Year of Cross-Sector Collaboration: From Concept to Publication
The project was a year-long collaboration: SciFaSaurus handled author recruitment and editorial production, while UBI Taiwan provided policy consultation and contextual expertise. Together, they advanced a “publishing × public issue” initiative.
UBI Taiwan Chair Jia-Kuan Su remarked at the forum: “This is not one-way promotion but a space for creation and dialogue. Each story offers a distinct vision of UBI, some optimistic, others critical. We do not present UBI as a perfect solution; rather, we invite readers to reflect on what it could mean for individuals and society.”
UBI Taiwan shared the novel in person at the BIEN Congress in Brazil.
Two Stories Reflect Real-World Tensions: From Family Liberation to the Boundaries of Freedom and Responsibility
To help international audiences grasp the book’s world-building, Su highlighted two representative stories: “The Discarded Mother” and “808”.
The Discarded Mother portrays a woman long trapped in domestic violence and stigmatization who, through UBI, gains financial autonomy and the breathing room to learn new skills and reclaim control of her life. Su noted: “For those in vulnerable positions within families, UBI is more than a monthly figure. It represents hope, dignity, and the possibility of liberation.”
808 takes place in a rehearsal studio where two former bandmates diverge under UBI: one keeps working and uses UBI to take entrepreneurial risks; the other drifts, his talent unrealized. Su said: “UBI provides a floor and a starting point, not a ceiling or a guarantee. Outcomes still depend on motivation, choices, and culture. It offers freedom, not promises.”
Heated Discussions and Cross-Cultural Insights at the Congress
After the presentation, the discussion centered on three main themes. The first concerned the social conditions for institutional transformation, as participants reflected on the growing importance of UBI in the context of declining birth rates, AI automation, and the expansion of non-standard employment. The second focused on cultural narratives and public understanding, examining how literary works can bridge the communicative gap that policy papers and research reports often fail to reach. The third theme addressed gender and family governance, as many stories approached UBI from female perspectives, shifting the conversation beyond macroeconomics to include household power structures and the redistribution of care work.
Several researchers and NGO representatives from different countries remarked that this approach, which begins with emotional connection through storytelling before moving toward institutional debate, helps to build cross-cultural awareness more effectively.
Appendix as Public Education: Deepening Understanding of UBI
Su added that the book includes an appendix written by UBI Taiwan members, systematically outlining the concepts, global trends, fiscal designs, and step-by-step implementation pathways of UBI. “We hope readers, after enjoying the stories, can connect with more rigorous research and data, moving beyond emotional or intuitive reactions,” Su said. This structure helps first-time UBI readers gain a clearer grasp of its policy context.
SciFaSaurus founder Wu-Hsuan Lee (aka Pumpkin President) and UBI Taiwan Chair Jia-Kuan Su
SciFaSaurus Launches Global Collaboration Plans
SciFaSaurus founder Wu-Hsuan Lee (aka Pumpkin President) explained that while Island’s New Realities was first published in Chinese, they welcome international publishers and translators to discuss foreign-language rights, aiming to let Taiwan’s stories inspire new imaginations worldwide.
The publisher is also developing a follow-up series continuing the UBI-centered blend of fantasy and science fiction, with plans for cross-national anthologies and multi-language editions to depict diverse visions of a UBI world.
From Taiwan to the World: Building a Global UBI Community
The book is now available through Taiwanese retail channels. UBI Taiwan and SciFaSaurus will co-host reading sessions and cross-sector dialogues with civic education and arts organizations, while also facilitating online exchanges between authors and UBI researchers worldwide, especially with younger generations.
The team emphasizes that this project is not a one-off publication but part of a long-term initiative linking culture and public policy advocacy.
About UBI Taiwan Founded in 2017, UBI Taiwan is a non-profit policy advocacy organization dedicated to exploring and implementing UBI solutions. It promotes the idea that the state should provide everyone with a regular, unconditional cash grant to secure basic livelihood and economic dignity, addressing social and economic challenges through research, experiments, and public campaigns for a fairer and more sustainable future.
Founded in 2014, SciFaSaurus is a Taiwan-based publisher specializing in fantasy and science-fiction novels, comics, and games. It cultivates original Taiwanese creators and has developed over 35 intellectual properties (IPs). SciFaSaurus is also the first small-scale publisher in Taiwan to complete an ESG transformation, with all its publications certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).
We would like to share an important update regarding the location of the 2026 BIEN Congress.
Following a review of international travel conditions and visa accessibility for participants, a decision has reluctantly been reached to relocate the 2026 BIEN Congress from University of Pennsylvania, USA, to Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto, Canada. This decision was taken in light of challenging political circumstances in the US, to support broad international participation and to reduce uncertainty for attendees travelling from a wide range of countries.
The Congress will now take place at Toronto Metropolitan University from 19–22 August 2026, instead of 27-29 of July as previously planned.
Updated Congress details
Dates: 19–22 August 2026 (Canada day pre-Congress taking place on August 19, Global agenda commencing August 20)
Host institution: Toronto Metropolitan University
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Theme:Basic Income and the Polycrisis: The Key to Unlocking the Puzzle
The previously announced event at the University of Pennsylvania (27–29 July 2026) will not proceed.
Canada offers a more predictable and accessible entry environment for many international participants, helping to ensure that the Congress remains inclusive and representative of BIEN’s global membership. We are grateful to our colleagues in Canada for their willingness to host the Congress and for their flexibility in accommodating this change, and to our US colleagues for putting so much work into making this year’s congress happen. We note with great appreciation that the University of Pennsylvania team will continue sponsoring the Congress and form part of its Scientific Committee.
Further information regarding registration, calls for papers, accommodation, and travel guidance will be shared in due course.
We appreciate the understanding of the BIEN community and look forward to welcoming delegates to Toronto in August 2026.
As host of The Basic Income Show and moderator for the Basic Income subreddit, I read hundreds of article every year about UBI. Below, I’ve compiled a list of the top ten articles I consider my favorites out of everything published in 2025.
To read the list of articles with links, click here.
Faced with a semiconductor boom, stagnant wages, and the threat of US tariffs, Taiwan has found a solution: Just giving everyone cash. Again.
For the second time in three years, the Taiwanese government is depositing hard cash directly into the accounts of its 23 million citizens and eligible foreign residents. On November 12, 2025, the first wave of NT$10,000 (approx. US$325) payments began hitting bank accounts. By the end of 2025, nearly everyone on the island, from tech billionaires to struggling night market vendors, have likely received their share of the national surplus.
On the surface, this is an economic stimulus, a “sharing of the fruits” from a record-breaking fiscal year. But viewed closer, it looks like something far more radical: the unintentional stumbling into an ad-hoc Universal Basic Income (UBI) model driven not by ideology, but by the sheer, awkward weight of accumulated wealth and geopolitical anxiety.
Taiwan is accidentally building a new social expectation, one where the profits of its world-dominating semiconductor industry are funnelled back to a population that feels increasingly left behind by its ascent.
‘Rich Island, Stagnant Wages’
To understand why Taiwan is handing out cash, you have to understand the island’s peculiar economic paradox.
In 2024, Taiwan’s tax revenue shattered expectations. The Ministry of Finance reported a record-breaking NT$3.76 trillion (US$114 billion) in revenue, exceeding budget projections by over NT$500 billion.
The engine of this windfall is no secret: TSMC. The world’s most important chipmaker is riding the AI wave, with 2025 sales forecasted to grow by nearly 35%. This helped surge Taiwan’s tax revenue.
But for the average Taiwanese worker, the “Silicon Shield” can feel more like a glass ceiling. While the tech sector booms, median wages in other sectors remain stagnant. Housing prices in Taipei have decoupled from reality, rising several times faster than inflation.
Taiwan’s GDP per capita will surpass US$40,000 next year. Economic analyst Roy Ngerng called this growth “meaningless when the economic growth hasn’t been fairly returned to workers.” According to Ngerng’s analysis, while Taiwan’s GDP per capita rivals Spain’s, its median wage is only about 70% of Spain’s.
This has created a phenomenon economists call “Dutch Disease” with a Taiwanese characteristic: The export sector is so successful it drives up the currency and cost of living, squeezing everyone else. The government found itself sitting on a mountain of cash in a country where the electorate felt increasingly poor.
Politics of universal cash
The path to the November 2025 payout was paved with political maneuvering showing basic income will become politicized whenever it is implemented in reality.
Earlier this year, the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) found itself in a political trap, facing recall votes against several of its legislators. In a move widely interpreted as populist defense, the KMT proposed a universal cash handout out of Taiwan’s record revenue surplus.
“The money collected from the people should be returned to the people,” KMT legislators argued in February, estimating that even after a NT$230 billion handout, the government would still have half the surplus left.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) initially balked. Premier Cho Jung-tai and fiscal conservatives argued the surplus should pay down national debt or fund energy infrastructure, warning that cash handouts were “vote-buying” that could spike inflation.
In 2023, the DPP administration had distributed NT$6,000. Refusing to do so again, with an even larger surplus in the bank, became political suicide. By October, the Legislative Yuan passed the special budget. Eventually the Executive Yuan allowed the universal cash measure to be distributed after the KMT won every recall vote by promoting the universal cash proposal.
Trump-proofing the economy
There is another layer to the 2025 payout: Geopolitics.
The legislation funding this transfer isn’t just about tax surpluses; it was bundled into a larger “Special Budget for Strengthening Economic and Social Resilience.” The idea was to “Trump-proof” Taiwan’s economy.
With the U.S. threatening new reciprocal tariffs on imports, a move the National Development Council warned could slash Taiwan’s GDP growth by over 1.6%, the export-reliant island was bracing for impact.
The cash handout, therefore, serves a dual purpose. “It is not only a key means of strengthening overall social and economic resilience and security, but also a reflection of the trust between the government and the people,” stated UBI chairman Jiakuan Su.
In essence, the cash payment was proposed as a domestic demand stimulus to offset a potential drop in exports, and it acts as a psychological buffer for a population anxious about trade wars.
Taiwan becomes Alaska?
For the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), Taiwan offers a case study that diverges from standard Western UBI pilots.
Most Western UBI experiments are welfare replacements or poverty alleviation trials, usually targeted and small-scale. Taiwan is drifting toward the Alaska Permanent Fund model: a resource dividend. But instead of oil, the resource is silicon.
Universality: Crucially, the 2025 payout included foreign permanent residents (APRC holders) and foreign spouses. If you live here and contribute to the economy, you get the dividend.
Infrastructure: The government has built a system for universal cash distribution. Millions registered online at an official portal and received funds within days. The administrative friction of sending money to 23 million people has effectively dropped to zero.
“By granting citizens autonomy over how the funds are used, whether for daily consumption, education and learning, or future investment, the government encourages individuals to allocate resources according to their own preferences and needs,” Su said.
Taiwanese citizens may now assume that a “tax surplus” automatically equals a “cash dividend.”
“A second universal payment demonstrates the gradual mainstreaming of basic income as a legitimate policy direction in Taiwan,” Tyler Prochazka, the founder of UBI Taiwan said.
If TSMC continues its dominance, these surpluses may continue. In turn, Taiwan may be unintentionally setting a precedent for an annual basic income, driven by the pressure created by a K-shaped economy. Now, local jurisdictions in Taiwan are debating their own supplementary universal payments to their residents.
For a world watching how to implement basic income, Taiwan’s lesson shows that winning the ideological argument is not necessary. Instead, it may be more important to focus on the conditions that make basic income feasible today.
