With its high strain rate (10^-6 - 10^-7 per year) acting on the oblique subduction-collision transition zone, seismicity in Taiwan is indicated by frequent small and moderate sized earthquakes, and occasionally some M ~ 7 events. During the last century and in recent years, Taiwan experienced a significant number of earthquakes. For example, the 1906 M 7.1 Meishan earthquake, the 1935 M 7.1 Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake, and the 1999 M 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake. The enormous damage caused by these events progressively compelled us to provide reliable and detailed seismic hazard and risk assessments for the country. With support from the former National Science Council and now the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Taiwan earthquake science communities, the Taiwan Earthquake Model (TEM) organization was established in 2012 under the supervision of the Taiwan Earthquake Research Center (TEC). The main purpose of TEM is to study the probability for seismic hazard and risk analysis for Taiwan by integrating the earthquake science, earthquake engineering, and social science communities of Taiwan. With help from TEM related research, we wish to improve our understanding of Taiwan earthquake mechanisms and therefore provide new insight into seismic hazard and risk assessments for Taiwan.