President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday stressed the importance of think tanks in the formation of government policy and said she hopes that such organizations could help the nation find its place in the new world order.
Tsai made the remarks in her opening speech at the inaugural Asia-Pacific Think Tank Summit in Taipei, a meeting that is bringing together more than 30 leaders of think tanks from 15 nations in the Asia-Pacific region to address pressing issues and shared concerns.
Participants came from Japan, South Korea, the US, India, Australia and several other ASEAN members for the two-day meeting that is to conclude today.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The event was organized by the Institute for National Policy Research (INPR) in collaboration with the Taiwan Society of Japan Studies and the Center for Japanese Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University.
In an increasingly interconnected world, every decision could have far-reaching consequences, especially decisions concerning security and defense issues, Tsai said, adding that they could directly effect the national interests of all parties.
“It is therefore vital for policymakers to be well-informed by institutions that have the capacity for comprehensive research and are able to give impartial advice and analysis,” Tsai said, adding that due to their expertise, think tanks are sometimes more equipped than governments to make long-term projections.
She said it was her awareness of the importance of think tanks that in 2011 prompted her, in her capacity as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson, to establish a policy research think tank under the party’s New Frontier Foundation.
Many of the DPP administration’s policies were drawn up based on the think tank’s recommendations, she said.
With that in mind, Tsai encouraged participating think tanks to establish a joint policy platform for future engagement and analysis, and to use their insights and perspectives to help Taiwan find its place in the new international order.
INPR president Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂), who also serves as chairman of the semi-official Straits Exchange Foundation, said that the Asia-Pacific region is increasingly important in global affairs, as it is the most dynamic and strategically critical region.
“We feel it is important for leaders of think tanks [in the region] to converse with one another to foster common values. Inevitably, we may be compelled to face together ... today’s volatile regional and global problems,” Tien said.
The Asia-Pacific region has become the stage for a big power rivalry in which a rising China is challenging the rules-based international order, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy President Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) said.
Against this backdrop, Hsu said it is “imperative that think tanks in the region work together to identify challenges, prevent further erosion of order and form a cognitive community to emphasize the region’s common values and rules.”
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we