President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged yesterday to work through the economic crisis and open up Taiwan’s market to more foreign investment, promising to address public concerns by presenting solid solutions to stagnant salaries and high unemployment.
In his National Day address titled “Forging Ahead Together with Composure in the Face of Adversity,” Ma sought to tackle economic issues and said his administration would focus its efforts on boosting the development of service industries, raising salaries and eliminating investment barriers to create more job opportunities.
“To bolster of national security and Taiwan’s interests, we will relax regulations on foreign investments to create a friendlier and more convenient investment environment. In the future, liberalization will become the norm and barriers the exception,” Ma said at a National Day ceremony in front of the Presidential Office.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
Ma said relaxing regulations on foreign investment would create a better investment environment and more jobs, and he promised that the government would strike a balance between labor rights and foreign investment.
“Although Taiwan’s economy has grown over the past years, many people have seen their salary remain stagnant and are not happy about that. To resolve this difficult situation, our industries must move toward higher value-added development,” he said.
Amid growing concerns about a low average salary and high unemployment rate, the president said that to make a breakthrough, the nation must restructure its industries and become a major provider of precision instruments, while strengthening the development of service industries.
Photo: Mandy Cheng, AFP
On cross-strait relations, Ma said the government would continue to push cross-strait development forward on the basis of the [so-called] “1992 consensus,” whereby each side acknowledges the existence of “one China,” but maintains its own interpretation of what that means.
As the two sides of the Taiwan Strait continue cross-strait negotiations following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, the government plans to review and revise the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and set up offices on each side of the Strait to serve the needs of businesspeople, students and the general public, he said.
In his address, the president also reiterated the nation’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and renewed his call for all parties to resolve the dispute peacefully.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
The official celebration of National Day was held in a relatively low-key fashion, with the organizers cutting down the scale of the performances in front of the Presidential Office, while the crowds were thin.
The ceremony began with a 15-minute show by more than 400 members of the Ministry of National Defense Honor Guard and the Joint Military Marching Band, winning rounds of applause for their demonstration of rifle-twirling skills and drumming.
The performance ended with the servicemen forming the figure 101 in honor of the nation’s anniversary.
Photo: CNA
Ma and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) met with foreign guests inside the Presidential Office before attending the ceremony.
First lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青), who had drawn criticism when she wore the same dress to the two previous National Day ceremonies, accompanied Ma in a new dress with floral prints in black and white.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat