A mature and open economy like Taiwan should not bank on the establishment of special economic zones to drive economic development, and even if they are necessary, they would be completely different from what President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has proposed, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
“The DPP will demand that the government submit a comprehensive plan and assessment on how the free economic pilot zones would help upgrade Taiwan’s industry and benefit local sectors before agreeing to review the special statute awaiting screening in the legislature. The party does not rule out proposing its own initiative,” Tsai said at the conclusion of the DPP’s two-day policy meeting in Greater Taichung.
The meeting, which gathered party officials, lawmakers and mayors and commissioners of DPP-governed administrative zones or their deputies, was organized to discuss several agenda set to be screened in the extra legislative session that begins on Friday. Yesterday it focused on the topics of the free economic pilot zones and the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Participants at the meeting agreed that the concept of special economic zones — found more often in lesser-developed countries, such as China — should be avoided because it would mean extending different treatments to businesses in the same sector, creating unequal competition.
The policy, the crown jewel of Ma’s “Golden Decade” pledge, aims to set up free economic pilot zones in Keelung Port, Suao Port in Yilan County, Taipei Port, Taichung Port, Anping Port in Greater Tainan, Kaohsiung Port, the Taoyuan Aerotropolis in Taoyuan County and the Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park to serve as models for business convenience and liberalization.
“The real, important issue today is not how many free economic pilot zones we would have and which city would have pilot zones, but whether the establishment of such a zone is legitimate and goal-oriented,” Tsai said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has accused the DPP of inconsistency, saying party headquarters and local DPP government heads appear to be at loggerheads, with Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung both demanding the right to host the zones.
Former minister of finance and DPP consultant Lin Chuan (林全) countered that the KMT’s economic growth-focused policy was outdated, with the government stuck in the “export processing zone era” of the 1970s and 1980s.
What the government needs to do is draw up a grand strategy that will benefit Taiwan as a whole rather than simply establishing special economic zones across the country, opening “backdoors” for Chinese agricultural products, personnel, wild animal trade as well as medical and education services, among others, he said.
The DPP is set to unveil its economic strategy that is founded on three elements: innovation, employment and distribution, Lin said.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the free economic pilot zone proposal needs to be overhauled and the DPP would insist on a clause-by-clause screening during the extra legislative session.
The senior lawmaker added that the KMT has relied on “old thinking” to deal with rapidly changing economic challenges, adding that providing tax incentives had proven to be an ineffective measure in attracting foreign investment.
The two-day meeting also discussed constitutional reform, with the party calling for the abolition of the Control Yuan and the Examination Yuan in the long term.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS