The government is stepping up efforts to persuade European countries to start bilateral investment agreement (BIA) talks with Taiwan, as the conditions are ripe, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) said yesterday.
Most foreign investment in Taiwan comes from the EU, while new member states in central and eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, have expressed a keen interest in investing in the nation, said Deng, the Cabinet’s chief representative for trade negotiations.
Over the past few years, Taiwanese events promoting smart city infrastructure have attracted many European visitors, showing that bilateral trade ties are improving, he said.
Taiwan’s global visibility is at its apex after the nation won global accolades for its effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which presents an opportunity for the nation to garner the support of EU members, such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, to start BIA talks, Deng said.
The European Parliament has passed resolutions to support Taiwan’s bid to join the WHO and its intention to negotiate a trade pact with the EU, he said.
Given the good foundations as well as the needs proposed by businesses, it is high time that both sides commence BIA negotiations, he said.
However, as the EU is often slow in making major decisions due to the need to reach a consensus among member states, the government has to work harder to garner support from each member state, he said.
Commenting on Taiwan-US talks over a bilateral trade agreement, another high-level Cabinet official said that there had not been enough time to deal with certain issues, echoing outgoing US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s remarks.
Lighthizer, who is to depart next week, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Monday rejected criticism that he did not start talks with Taiwan because he wanted to protect Washington’s “phase one” trade deal with Beijing.
Instead, he said, there had not been enough time to go through many legal hoops with Taiwan and that many trade disputes with Taipei remain unresolved.
US law requires the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to notify the US Congress 90 days before it starts negotiations with a foreign government, and it cannot start talks without the Congress’ approval, the Cabinet official said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 last year announced the government’s plan to ease restrictions on pork containing ractopamine from Jan. 1, and the US held its presidential election in November, which left little time for Lighthizer to prepare for talks with Taiwan during his term, the official said.
Due to the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) protests against the pork policy and its plan to launch a referendum reinstating the total ban on ractopamine, it is said that the USTR hopes to take more time monitoring the developments in Taiwan before starting negotiations, the official said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source