Some advisers to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) have expressed concerns about the relaxation of cross-strait policy, including a fear that Taiwan would become part of China.
The council issued a statement yesterday saying that some council advisers attending a meeting on Monday warned about the potential danger of loosening cross-strait economic policies.
They urged the government to refrain from adjusting economic policy to the extent that it would lead the public to believe it was leaning toward China. If that happened, the public would be worried that closer economic ties would marginalize Taiwan’s economy, they said.
As many measures have come into force since the new government took office, some council advisers questioned whether these changes pose a threat or represent an opportunity. How the administration implements the measures would be key, they said.
They also said that the administration must ensure that the country’s technical advantages are maintained so that the status of the country’s technology industry is assured. The government must also make plans and help businesses keep their leverage in management, marketing, design, service and branding, they said.
Some advisers called on the administration to present a complete blueprint of its economic policy if it wanted to receive a more positive response from the public.
They said the government must explain its policies to the public in easy-to-understand language and assure the needs of the Taiwanese are met in terms of employment opportunities, income and commodity prices, they said.
To reassure the public about the change of policies, advisers said the administration was duty bound to explain the pros and cons of its cross-strait economic policies, their impact, prevention measures and risks involved. Some advisers urged government agencies to manage the process carefully and ensure that the adjusted policies bring opportunities to the business sector and benefit the economy as a whole.
With the deterioration of the investment environment in China, some advisers called on the administration to conduct a thorough study and map out a concrete plan. The government was obliged to create a better investment environment at home to lure Taiwanese businesspeople back to invest and help them upgrade or transform their businesses, they said.
In a related development, the council announced yesterday that the processing period for Chinese with technical skills applying for entry will be shortened from two months to one month.
Deputy MAC Chairman Liu Teh-hsun (劉德勳) said the measure will come into effect after it is approved by the Executive Yuan. The measure was proposed by the Ministry of the Interior at a monthly meeting yesterday.
Also, the central bank, which delivered a report at the meeting, said that as of last Tuesday, 19 banks and 1,570 of their branch offices had been authorized to exchange the yuan, while 108 exchange depots such as hotels or shops had also been authorized.
From June 30 to July 15, the central bank said financial institutions and exchange depots have bought 1.02 million yuan (US$149,300) and sold 2.38 million yuan.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Donald Trump vowed to reward his supporters, while President William Lai said he was confident the Taiwan-US partnership would continue Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the US early yesterday morning, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. As of press time last night, The Associated Press had Trump on 277 electoral college votes to 224 for US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, with Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Michigan and Nevada yet to finalize results. He had 71,289,216 votes nationwide, or 51 percent, while Harris had 66,360,324 (47.5 percent). “We’ve been through so
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