Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) yesterday called for the establishment of a grand coalition government and immediate cross-strait political negotiations to rejuvenate stagnant economic exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
With President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) receiving low approval ratings and domestic politics stagnating due to fierce political competition, it is time to establish a grand coalition government to provide the nation with much needed political mobility to move forward, Hsu said.
“No political party in Taiwan will be able to carry out reform and move this country forward alone,” said Hsu, who unveiled his paper, titled What should Taiwan do?, covering a wide range of national issues, at a press conference.
Hsu said that a grand coalition “is a must-have for Taiwan.”
The former DPP chair, who is known for his moderate policies toward China later in his political career, expressed concern about the nation’s stagnant economy in the two-hour press conference at his office, which also doubles as the Taipei liaison office of China’s Xiamen University.
With 40 percent of exports going to China, Taiwan’s economy is now closely tied with China’s, Hsu said. As any effort by Taiwan to seek regional and global economic integration would be inevitably dictated by Beijing, it is imperative for Taiwan to actively pursue political dialogue with China, so the economy can recover, Hsu said.
Hsu said that Taiwan’s negotiations with China for a trade in goods agreement and a trade in services agreement appeared to be stalling, which could put Taiwanese businesses at a disadvantage if South Korea, Japan and other major economies sign free-trade agreements with China.
The proposed dialogue would not be conducted for political purposes, but rather to save Taiwan’s economy, Hsu said.
Hsu said he recognized that Taiwanese have been reluctant and suspicious about cross-strait political talks, but insisted that dialogue would not be harmful because “it is just dialogue.”
Those who have doubts about the government’s position in the negotiations, including opposition parties, pro-Taiwan independence groups and civic groups, would all be welcome to participate in the talks, Hsu said.
In the statement, which covered 16 A4-size pages, Hsu also touched upon a number of domestic issues, such as the dispute surrounding nuclear energy, pension reform and the establishment of six free economic pilot zones, and criticized the Ma administration for its incompetence.
Hsu said the debate about the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), was “a no-brainer,” adding that the construction must stop because Taiwan cannot afford any risks of a potential nuclear disaster, in particular after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant incident in Japan.
Hsu said Taiwan would be able to generate sufficient electricity through wind power and solar power and called for the privatization of the electricity market in Taiwan.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
RSS