The Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait should launch talks over an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) as soon as possible to create a “cross-strait win-win” situation, a statement released by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) said yesterday.
CIER and China’s Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation worked together last November to study the effects of the planned trade agreement on the two economies.
CIER said its study showed that although the economic pact may have both positive and negative impacts on different industries, overall, it would boost Taiwan’s GDP and lift the macroeconomy.
The Chinese academy’s research also arrived at the same findings, that “the development of Chinese industries may benefit or be adversely impacted by the agreement depending on their competitiveness,” the CIER statement said.
Since businesses on both sides of the Strait may have to undergo internal adjustments in the face of increased competition from imports in the process of market liberalization, CIER said the government should adopt a gradual or flexible method in deregulating the market.
Aside from the ECFA, the Taiwanese and Chinese research institutions recommended that the two sides establish timely trade regulations on the origin of products, the definition of service suppliers, trade remedy terms and a dispute settlement mechanism, the statement said.
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
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
The Civil Aviation Administration yesterday said that it is considering punishments for China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines for making hard landings and overworking their cabin crew when the nation was hit by Typhoon Kong-rey in October last year. The civil aviation authority launched an investigation after media reported that many airlines were forced to divert their flights to different airports or go around after failing to land when the typhoon affected the nation on Oct. 30 and 31 last year. The agency reviewed 503 flights dispatched by Taiwanese airlines during those two days, as well as weather data, flight hours
Three people have had their citizenship revoked after authorities confirmed that they hold Chinese ID cards, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday. Two of the three people were featured in a recent video about Beijing’s “united front” tactics by YouTuber Pa Chiung (八炯) and Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源), including Su Shi-en (蘇士恩), who displayed a Chinese ID card in the video, and taekwondo athlete Lee Tung-hsien (李東憲), who mentioned he had obtained a Chinese ID card in a telephone call with Chen, Liang told the council’s weekly news conference. Lee, who reportedly worked in
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