The Most Famous People in Taiwan
Top 31 of 31 ranked · August 2026 · See today's live standing →
First issue under methodology v5.62. Movement begins with the next issue frozen under the same version.
Lai and Chen Shui-bian a tenth of a point apart atop Taiwan's list
iFAMOUS Editorial Desk · 1 min read
Two presidents, a filmmaker and a K-pop singer lead an August 2026 Taiwan table on which every one of the 31 measured names is alive.
Lai Ching-te, president of the Republic of China since May 2024, is the most famous person connected to Taiwan in August 2026, at a score of 21.5. Chen Shui-bian, who held the office from 2000 to 2008, is second at 21.4. A tenth of a point separates the current president from a predecessor who left office nearly two decades ago, which is as close a top two as any list in this issue produces.
Ang Lee, the director admired for the emotional depth of his work across genres, is third at 19.6. Rosé, the New Zealand and South Korean singer, is fourth at 17, the only name of the 31 not tagged to Taiwan, and TZUYU, the Taiwanese singer and dancer, sixth. Shu Qi, the actress and filmmaker, is fifth, Takeshi Kaneshiro, born in Taipei and known for his work with Wong Kar-wai and Zhang Yimou, seventh, and Rainie Yang, whose career spans two decades, eighth.
Politics returns lower down with Chiang Wan-an, mayor of Taipei since 2022, ninth, Cho Jung-tai, premier since 2024, eleventh, and Hsiao Bi-khim, vice president since May 2024, fifteenth. Cheng Yen, the Buddhist nun who founded the Tzu Chi Foundation, is tenth, the only religious figure in the top fifteen.
All 31 names are living, so the Alive reading is the same table. The screen names of an earlier era hold their places: Vivian Hsu twelfth, Brigitte Lin, born in 1954, thirteenth, and Chang Chen fourteenth. Coverage is rated medium.
| Rank | Name | Score | Live |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lai Ching-te politicianAlive | 21.5 | iFANN → |
| 2 |  Chen Shui-bian politicianAlive | 21.4 | iFANN → |
| 3 |  Ang Lee celebrityAlive | 19.6 | iFANN → |
| 4 |  Rosé  celebrityAlive | 17.0 | iFANN → |
| 5 |  Shu Qi celebrityAlive | 16.8 | iFANN → |
| 6 |  TZUYU celebrityAlive | 15.5 | iFANN → |
| 7 |  Takeshi Kaneshiro celebrityAlive | 14.7 | iFANN → |
| 8 |  Rainie Yang celebrityAlive | 14.6 | iFANN → |
| 9 |  Chiang Wan-an politicianAlive | 11.5 | iFANN → |
| 10 |  Cheng Yen celebrityAlive | 10.7 | iFANN → |
| 11 |  Cho Jung-tai politicianAlive | 10.2 | iFANN → |
| 12 |  Vivian Hsu celebrityAlive | 9.8 | iFANN → |
| 13 |  Brigitte Lin celebrityAlive | 8.3 | iFANN → |
| 14 |  Chang Chen celebrityAlive | 8.3 | iFANN → |
| 15 |  Hsiao Bi-khim politicianAlive | 8.0 | iFANN → |
| 16 |  Michelle Chen celebrityAlive | 7.5 | iFANN → |
| 17 |  Jimmy Lin celebrityAlive | 7.4 | iFANN → |
| 18 |  Ethan Juan celebrityAlive | 5.8 | iFANN → |
| 19 |  Chang San-cheng politicianAlive | 5.7 | iFANN → |
| 20 |  Cheng Li-wun politicianAlive | 5.4 | iFANN → |
| 21 |  Ning Chang celebrityAlive | 5.4 | iFANN → |
| 22 |  Annie Chen celebrityAlive | 4.6 | iFANN → |
| 23 |  Dave Wang celebrityAlive | 4.3 | iFANN → |
| 24 |  Chen Chi-mai politicianAlive | 3.4 | iFANN → |
| 25 |  Lu Shiow-yen politicianAlive | 3.4 | iFANN → |
| 26 |  Megan Lai celebrityAlive | 3.2 | iFANN → |
| 27 |  Johnny Chiang politicianAlive | 3.1 | iFANN → |
| 28 |  Lin Chia-lung politicianAlive | 3.0 | iFANN → |
| 29 |  Huang Kuo-chang politicianAlive | 2.7 | iFANN → |
| 30 |  Jody Chiang celebrityAlive | 2.0 | iFANN → |
| 31 |  Baron Chen celebrityAlive | 1.3 | iFANN → |
About this list
This list ranks the most famous people connected to Taiwan as of August 2026, by overall fame rather than one month's attention: the top 31 of 31 names the rankings measured for Taiwan, frozen as the permanent record of that edition. This is the standard reading: everyone, living or dead, on one scale. 31 of the 31 listed are living; the Alive reading restricts the same ranking to living people.
Lai Ching-te is No. 1 on this list for August 2026. Behind Lai Ching-te come Chen Shui-bian and Ang Lee. Evidence coverage for this list is medium; positions near the bottom of the table may shift as coverage improves.
What famous means here
Fame, in iFAMOUS, is how widely the world knows a name: how recognisable a person's name, face or work is, and how well people know who they are. It is assessed from extensive historical and current public data, some of it reaching back more than twenty years, and it is not merit, talent, importance or popularity on iFANN. The rankings model real-world global fame, not internet fame; the data is the instrument, not the subject. Activity on iFANN itself is excluded.
The month in the title is the date of this edition, not the period measured. The list is a snapshot of overall fame as it stood when the issue was frozen: a name does not lose its place because one month was quiet, and a trending moment alone does not put a name here. Trending attention is published separately on ifann.net.
How the list was ranked
The iFANN Global Fame Rankings combine worldwide Wikipedia readership across languages, worldwide news coverage and search interest anchored against stable reference names, with search history reaching back to 2004. A twelve-month baseline sits behind the current reading and short-lived surges are capped, so the list reflects durable recognition rather than one week of headlines. Rankings are computed daily on ifann.net and frozen on the second day of the following month as that month's issue; a published issue never changes.
About Taiwan
Taiwan is one of the countries and regions the journal ranks every month. Country lists use the same rankings and the same scale as The 100, so a name can be compared with its neighbours and against the world.
Powered by iFANN
iFAMOUS is published by iFANN and powered by the iFANN Global Fame Rankings v5.62. Today's live standing for this list is on ifann.net; the journal freezes it once a month so it can be cited permanently.
Related searches: most famous people in Taiwan 2026, top celebrities in Taiwan August 2026, Taiwan fame ranking, most famous person in Taiwan.
"Lai Ching-te, No. 1 on The Most Famous People in Taiwan", iFAMOUS No. 1 (August 2026), ifamous.org