The COVID-19 pandemic might weigh on the nation’s economy through the second quarter and erase up to 1.4 percentage points from GDP growth this year in the worst-case scenario, National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said yesterday.
The government would seek to retain GDP growth of more than 2 percent by introducing relief funds and stimulus measures that could be stepped up if necessary, she said.
“The virus outbreak might affect the economy for six months,” twice as long as previously expected, as it has spread to Europe and the US, Chen told a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee in Taipei.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Disruptions caused by the coronavirus on global economic activity would dent Taiwan’s GDP growth by 0.66 percentage points this year, if the world can contain the disease by June, she said.
A protracted outbreak could reduce GDP growth by 1.4 percentage points in the worst-case scenario, in which tourist arrivals would continue to dwindle and export orders dry up, she added.
The bleak projection does not take into account benefits to be generated from a stimulus package and potential increases in domestic tourism as global restrictions limit outbound travel, Chen said.
There is still a chance for the economy to grow 2 percent if all government agencies work hard to ensure that relief funds reach their intended recipients and public works budgets are effectively implemented, she said.
“That is the government’s goal. We cannot afford to be optimistic, but there is no time for pessimism,” Chen said.
Major economic gauges look healthy so far, Chen said, adding that the government’s business climate monitor for last month would not disappoint given the mild outbreak in Taiwan.
The council is scheduled to release the data this afternoon.
However, lockdowns in Europe and several US states pose a bigger threat to economic activity than concerns over supply-chain disruptions in China, which have subsided along with the number of new infections in that nation, Chen said.
The government would evaluate the global fight against COVID-19 and would strengthen its aid program if needed, she said.
Despite heightened downside risks, the coronavirus has lent support to e-commerce and the digital economy, she added.
Taiwan can take advantage of the opportunity to transform its economy, facilitating the development of 5G and artificial-intelligence applications, Chen said.
Taiwanese firms command global leadership in chip manufacturing and design, as well as other technologies, she said.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS