As the world's economies become increasingly interdependent, Taiwan has now established a partnership with the international economic system. Main-taining competitiveness and employing relatively cheap Chinese labor have therefore become crucial for many Taiwanese businesspeople.
In recent years, the number of Taiwanese businesspeople doing business in China has risen inexorably. Taiwan has become one of the major sources of China's foreign capital. As the Chinese economy rapidly grows, we should not ignore the trend that China is gradually replacing Taiwan's role in the international community.
In particular, since Taiwan entered the WTO last year, it has experienced the pressures of globalization even more acutely. The country also faces political localization, industrial transformation and changes to the external environment. Moreover, the local media have excessively glorified China, making quite a few Taiwanese lose confidence in their nation's economy. They think highly of the rise of a Chinese economic superpower and look down on the economic development of Taiwan.
A lot of foreign capital that had been flowing into Taiwan is now going to China as a result of the changes to the world economic system. But this does not mean that this country has no chance to further prosper. We should not lose confidence in ourselves because of short-term economic phenomena. It would be wrong to judge the nation's future based on short-term economic prosperity and ignore other elements of social development -- such as freedom, democracy and the popularization of knowledge -- which can take a long time to achieve.
Taiwan and China are two different societies in terms of social development. Taiwan's society today is a free, diverse and open one, and people have the "right to know." Many structural problems can be solved through democratic mechanisms. Its social development is therefore relatively stable.
China is not yet a democratic country. The Chinese government can still control the dissemination of news and restrict the circulation of information through the state apparatus. No news is not always good news. The future development of China is unpredictable. The people of Taiwan should never be fooled by its beautiful illusion.
Taiwan has to know both itself and its major competitors to face the challenges from China and of globalization. Competition is now for capital, technologies and talent rather than for traditional products. In other words, the nation needs to keep up in the race for global resources to en-sure its economic development.
Taiwan should not covet China's relatively low production costs. Instead, it has to strive to upgrade its industries and technologies, and to cultivate more talent. This is the best way to ensure the nation's sustainable development. The current economic downturn is just temporary. Taiwan's economy will find its way if we have hope and confidence, and strive for it with one heart.
Chen Lung-chu is chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
It is employment pass renewal season in Singapore, and the new regime is dominating the conversation at after-work cocktails on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa would need to fulfill the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away, and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub. The program was announced in 2022 in a bid to promote fair hiring practices. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares with local peers, along
China last month enacted legislation to punish —including with the death penalty — “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists.” The country’s leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), need to be reminded about what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has said and done in the past. They should think about whether those historical figures were also die-hard advocates of Taiwanese independence. The Taiwanese Communist Party was established in the Shanghai French Concession in April 1928, with a political charter that included the slogans “Long live the independence of the Taiwanese people” and “Establish a republic of Taiwan.” The CCP sent a representative, Peng
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday announced that the military would hold its annual Han Kuang exercises from July 22 to 26. Military officers said the exercises would feature unscripted war games, and a decentralized command and control structure. This year’s exercises underline the recent reforms in Taiwan’s military as it transitions from a top-down command structure to one where autonomy is pushed down to the front lines to improve decisionmaking and adaptability. Militaries around the world have been observing and studying Russia’s war in Ukraine. They have seen that the Ukrainian military has been much quicker to adapt to