The uncertainty surrounding the Economic Sustainable Development Conference finally came to an end last week, when Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen (
Since the Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2000, it has organized several conferences, which have reached a long list of conclusions, beginning with the Economic Development Advisory Conference in 2001, in which 322 recommendations were approved. In particular, former president Lee Teng-hui's (
There followed a national conference on social welfare services in 2002, a national conference on population policy in 2004, a national energy strategy conference last year and a national sustainable development conference this April. Some of the conference conclusions became law, but many others have still not been passed because of political paralysis in the legislature.
Opposition parties have threatened to boycott next month's conference because the government has not fully implemented decisions reached at the 2001 conference -- especially the consensus to move ahead on cross-strait economic links. Industry representatives also gave a lukewarm response to the conference after President Chen Shui-bian (
But the Cabinet's announcement last week of plans to expand cross-strait passenger and cargo charter flights appeared to help improve domestic sentiment for the moment. Moreover, the inclusion by the Mainland Affairs Council of China-bound investment matters in the preparatory meetings over the coming six weeks has heightened expectations for the event. Such matters will include a possible lifting of the current limit on Taiwanese firms' investment in China.
However, it is questionable whether the Cabinet can use a national conference to solicit the collective public will and untangle difficult issues. Facing rising calls from business circles for further relaxations in cross-strait trade and investment, it is certainly questionable whether participants can stand up for national security concerns and reach a conclusion that maintains Taiwan's competitiveness while securing a balance between global markets and the Chinese market.
Given the nation's entrenched political polarization, some have worried whether any meaningful and realistic conclusions could come from the conference. How can such a divided country reach agreement on cross-strait policies such as whether to allow Taiwanese banks to invest in Chinese lenders or allow chipmakers to invest in 0.18-micron process technology in China?
Some politicians and mass media prefer to focus on political scandals. But why not try to draw the public's attention to next month's conference, which will focus on cross-strait issues, as well as structural and long-term development issues including financial reform, labor shortages and environmental protection? In a country like Taiwan, where many political figures have no vision for the nation because they can only see their enemies, a constructive exercise like the conference could make a refreshing change.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS