Most reform measures in recent years have been half-baked. Shackled by political differences, compromises have to be made in any type of reform -- political, economic, social, educational. The effects of many reforms have been undercut by the lack of complementary packages or resources. The result is the nation pays a lot, but gets little in return. The reforms do not win praise from the international community, and the people don't acknowledge the government's determination to undertake reforms or their results.
The Legislative Yuan held a three-day extraordinary session this week to review six financial bills related to the government's two major policy aims -- financial reforms and cross-strait economic rela-tions. Four bills passed -- the Real Estate Securitization Statute (
This outcome may look good at first sight, but the failure to pass the other two bills -- amendments to the Statute Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (
The financial-committee law establishes a mechanism for financial monitoring and management. The Agricultural Finance Law is aimed at fixing the grassroots level financial institutions whose operations have been distorted by political factionalism and which are sinking under the weight of bad loans.
The proposed financial reconstruction fund was aimed at resolving problems posed by financial institutions' bad assets and improving the bad-loan situation, in order to revitalize the economy and prevent Taiwan from copying Japan's economic decline. So the government is ready to launch its financial reforms, but the programs have not been given the drive they need to kick off. The steep fall in financial stocks yesterday was proof that the financial sector and the public were disappointed by the legislature's ineptitude.
The establishment of free-trade ports is a revised version of the Asia-Pacific operations center and Asia-Pacific logistics center programs drawn up by the KMT government. These free-trade ports, which will be customs-free areas, will allow Taiwanese businesses to combine manufacturing in China with processing and marketing in Taiwan. This country will be able to flexibly use Chinese and Taiwanese raw materials to raise the added value of China-made materials and semi-finished products. This is supposed to help redirect capital that has flowed out to China and was to be new strategy for cross-strait economic and trade relations.
However, due to the heightened cross-strait frictions caused by the SARS epidemic, President Chen Shui-bian (
The government, political parties and lawmakers were under intense pressure to produce results during the extraordinary session. The government needs to continue to negotiate with the opposition to resolve the differences on the remaining legislation. The government should also understand that reforms need to come with complementary packages. Free-trade ports need direct links. The extraordinary session should only be a comma, not a full stop. There is still a lot of hard work ahead.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with