Closer economic and trade ties with China have not helped improve Taiwan’s economy or Taiwanese people’s lives, but have instead created inequitable distribution of wealth, a former chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said.
Taiwan and China last week held a fourth round of cross-strait talks in Taichung. A total of 12 agreements, including three from the latest Taichung talks, have been forged between the two sides since the first round of talks in June last year to increase economic cooperation.
Hung Chi-chang (洪奇昌), who chaired the SEF when the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in power, said the lack of apparent benefits from closer ties has led many people to feel that cross-strait development has progressed too quickly, and he urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to address public misgivings.
Hung said many people thought ties with China proceeded too slowly before President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration in May last year and too fast afterward.
“The reason for such a perception is that the public does not think society has felt economic growth or a substantive improvement in their lives through closer cross-strait ties,” Hung said.
People also feel relations between Taiwan and China have grown too close because their expectations have not been met, he said.
That, coupled with the perception that the benefits accrued by large enterprises from closer cross-strait ties have not filtered down to other layers of society, have resulted in a concern over the unequal distribution of the economic gains made through closer cross-strait ties, he said.
He also said that Taiwan’s international trade was already greater than GDP, and that Taiwan’s original equipment manufacturing-oriented industries should transform or upgrade.
Taiwan’s financial structure is not sound, with tax revenues accounting for only 13 percent of GDP, compared with 18 percent in the past, he said. In contrast, the figure is about 35 percent in Scandinavian countries, which often place high in international competitiveness rankings.
Taiwan’s outstanding government debt ratio is also approaching its legal ceiling, which he said would be a potential threat to Taiwan’s national competitiveness.
Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) on Friday countered criticism that the talks have put a dent in Taiwanese sovereignty and could endanger some local industrial sectors.
Taiwan has held several rounds of talks with China without undermining the country’s sovereignty, Lai said.
“All the talks have been conducted with the aim of safeguarding national sovereignty, promoting industrial development and taking care of people’s lives,” she said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees