Taiwan's president is handing out cash to every citizen next year on the back of an AI-driven economic boom — good news for consumers, and a sign of how much the island is earning from the global chip rush.

• Every citizen gets NT$10,000 next year, pitched as sharing the country's "AI dividends."
• Taiwan's economy is expected to grow at its fastest pace in 39 years in 2026.
• The windfall comes from booming demand for chips and AI hardware, where Taiwan dominates.
• Taiwan has only a 3–5 year window to build a robot supply chain that does not depend on China.
• A soldier was charged with passing military secrets to a China-linked group, a reminder of the security pressure behind the boom.

Outlook: The handout should lift spending next year, but the harder task is cutting supply-chain reliance on China before the window closes.