TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, Edwin J. Feulner Jr., is visiting Taiwan from Tuesday to Thursday, and will attend an event that celebrates Taiwan as attaining the highest rank in a decade in a report on the world’s economic freedom published by the Washington-based think tank last week.

Taiwan is ranked 10th on the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom, showing the best performance since 2018. It also achieved the fifth rank in the Asia-Pacific, following Hong Kong (No. 1), Singapore (No. 2), New Zealand (No. 3), and Australia (No. 5).

The report refers to Taiwan as having “relatively well-developed commercial code and open-market policies that facilitate the flow of goods and capital (which) have made small and medium-size enterprises the backbone of Taiwan’s economic expansion.”

It also regards the nation as having “a sound legal framework (which) protects property rights and upholds the rule of law.”

Feulner is expected to attend an event co-hosted by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research on Thursday in Taipei regarding the official release of the report, which has been published by the foundation in partnership with the Wall Street Journal since 1995.

In addition to the event, the delegation of three from the Heritage Foundation will meet with a number of officials in the Taiwan government, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Feulner and the foundation have long been working on strengthening the relationship between Taiwan and the United States, said MOFA.

Last April, Mr. Feulner was conferred the Grand Medal of Diplomacy by Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) in recognition of his contributions to the betterment of Taiwan-U.S. bilateral relationship. He also took part in the Taiwan National Day celebration hosted by the Office of the President last October.