Officials at the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會) said yesterday they will work with other Cabinet offices in revising the current China-bound investment policies and small direct three links with China, considering both the nation's developing economy and cross-strait relations.
"We are ultimately working toward the same goals as the Ministry of Economic Affairs of increasing the gross domestic product, while also maintaining the independence of local industries in order to avoid their over reliance on the Chinese market," said John Deng (
Officials from the MAC, Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD,
Tsai Ying-wen (
However, Tsai did not give specific commitments yesterday regarding demands levied by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA, 台灣區電機電子工業同業公會), the island's top high-tech industry organization. The TEEMA delega-tion, led by chairman Richard Wu (吳思鍾), met with Tsai yesterday and urged the MAC and other authorities to open direct links with China, thereby eliminating the need for trade to go through Hong Kong.
Wu added that members of his association need a clear cross-strait policy under which to plan strategies for investment and trade in China. The association currently represents over 4,600 companies in fields ranging from semiconductors to telecommunications equipment and information technology.
Wu urged the government to speed up the lifting of the ban on "three links" with China -- trade, transport and communications -- pointing out that the nation's businesses could save a great deal of money each year.
According to officials from the MOEA's Investment Commission (
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), said earlier that the policies of the two-month old government of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had caused great anxiety within the island's high-tech industry. He specifically opposed the government's plans to rethink a tax loophole on grants of shares to company employees.
Additionally, he said he favored relaxing the rules on Taiwanese investment in China and the use of stock options as compensation.
In response to media concerns, Deng suggested that the detailed policies of small direct three links and the "go slow, be patient" policies might be finalized by the end of September. The new policies will be based on studies by the MAC, MOEA, CEPD, central bank and Ministry of Finance, with the Cabinet having final approval.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last