Vice Premier and Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairman Lin Hsin-i (林信義) said yesterday that the impact of a short war between the US and Iraq on the domestic economy would be limited.
At a legislative question-and-answer session, Lin said that a war lasting from three to six weeks would have no major impact on Taiwan's exports and imports.
Lin said that a prolonged military conflict would hamper outbound shipments.
Lin also made it clear that Taiwan will support the US and its campaign against terrorism should war break out.
Responding to a question about a domestic steel shortage raised by PFP caucus whip Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Ruey-long (陳瑞隆) said government agencies, including the one in charge of raw materials and major products, have set up task forces to tackle the possible consequences of a war.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has also asked China Steel Corp (CSC) -- Taiwan's leading supplier of steel materials -- to satisfy domestic demand before exporting its products, Chen said, adding that demand for steel might surge in the international market in the post-war construction period.
In the face of rising international prices for steel goods and the many disgruntled mid- and downstream steelmakers at home, Chen said the ministry has crafted measures to secure supplies for the domestic market by preventing CSC-contracted wholesalers from exporting unprocessed raw materials.
PFP lawmakers said earlier the same day that various CSC mid-stream suppliers have exported unprocessed raw materials and hiked prices, making it difficult for local downstream businesses to buy steel at reasonable prices.
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"Law-enforcement authorities should intervene to ensure a balanced demand and supply at reasonable prices," Hsieh argued.
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
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