The nation’s economy has suffered from a strong pro-China bias. Changing this means cutting down on dependence on China. The “new southbound policy” is one of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration’s antidotes, but because it is based on breaking away from a China-centric trade network, it was strongly criticized by Chinese academics at this month’s Boao Forum for Asia in China’s Hainan Province. According to the criticism, following the “new southbound policy” is a deviation from Asian trade, which is turning toward a focus on China.
Has the “new southbound policy” brought any results? What are the government’s policy planning and implementation skills like? These questions cannot be ignored and require serious study. One thing is certain: If Taiwan is to change the situation, it must recognize that 20 to 30 years of leaning toward China has showed that it just invites trouble.
Perhaps the “new southbound policy” will encourage manufacturing businesses to return to Taiwan, although that remains disputed. If it does turn out to be a mistake and proves to have been an exercise in futility, at least it will not have invited disaster. However, if it is effective, it could revive the nation’s economy, which is why it is worth going through a trial-and-error process to find a feasible solution.
The view of Chinese academics that Asian trade is turning toward a focus on China does not stand up to the test. China might be the world’s second-largest economy and its trade with Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian nations is huge, while the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership highlight China’s ambitions to build an Asia-Pacific network centered around itself.
However, opposition is quickly growing stronger, and former US president Barack Obama’s policy of rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific was not only a matter of military security, it also involved fighting back at an economic level. In particular, the Trans-Pacific Partnership was intended to create a regional economic framework with a high entry threshold and a high level of transparency, including labor rights, environmental resources, customs tariffs, market deregulation and international integration of laws and systems in order to avoid a situation in which China gets to direct the reshaping of world trade regulations and prevent global trade from tipping in its own favor.
Unfortunately, US President Donald Trump quickly announced the US’ withdrawal from the agreement, although China is the main target of his calls for fair trade. In other words, the US’ trade policy toward China remains unchanged, the only thing that has changed is the methodology applied by different governments.
China is trying to place itself at the center of Asian trade and even become the unofficial center of global trade. However, its trading volume is not sufficient to become the global trade center. That would require a qualitative breakthrough and improvements: policies, systems, laws and regulations must be integrated with those of developed nations and free market values must be adopted. Nevertheless, China’s actions in trade are a study in authoritarianism.
First, it is using economy and trade to intimidate trading partners to gain political and military benefits. For example, it has been reducing the number of tourists it allows to visit Taiwan and agricultural imports to force Taiwan to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
When it comes to South Korea, China has issued harsh restrictions on contact with the nation, restricting the number of tourists that can travel there and the presence of South Korean entertainment ventures, as well as establishing tax and food safety reviews of Lotte Group, forcing it to close a large number of Chinese outlets. These are just some examples of how the economy is taking a backseat to political concerns in China.
Furthermore, the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, the AIIB and huge investments in Africa are not only aimed at economic benefits, but also geopolitical goals. China is using economic means to become a political hegemon.
Second, although China claims to be moving toward capitalism, the economy is not founded on free trade, but rather on state capitalism, or “capitalism with socialist characteristics,” as Beijing likes to call it.
China uses policy to cultivate local companies and state resources — such as land and tax benefits — to offer subsidies and invest in strategic industries. This creates production surpluses that cause dumping on overseas markets, destroys the orderly functioning of markets and leads to cutthroat competition. In particular, hidden behind state resources are index companies that make lots of international high-tech or national defense-related acquisitions, such as semiconductor, biotech and automation companies, which no doubt provide a powerful source of technological support for the rise of China’s military.
In short, the vicious Chinese economic dragon is a tool for achieving its political, military and geopolitical goals that violate free market rules. It has next to no positive influence on global economic growth, instead spewing toxic fumes in an attempt to eliminate competitors that do not agree with it. How long will Taiwan survive if it does not quickly distance itself from this evil economic Chinese empire?
Translated by Perry Svensson
The government and local industries breathed a sigh of relief after Shin Kong Life Insurance Co last week said it would relinquish surface rights for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) to Nvidia Corp. The US chip-design giant’s plan to expand its local presence will be crucial for Taiwan to safeguard its core role in the global artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and to advance the nation’s AI development. The land in dispute is owned by the Taipei City Government, which in 2021 sold the rights to develop and use the two plots of land, codenamed T17 and T18, to the
Taiwan’s first case of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed on Tuesday evening at a hog farm in Taichung’s Wuci District (梧棲), trigging nationwide emergency measures and stripping Taiwan of its status as the only Asian country free of classical swine fever, ASF and foot-and-mouth disease, a certification it received on May 29. The government on Wednesday set up a Central Emergency Operations Center in Taichung and instituted an immediate five-day ban on transporting and slaughtering hogs, and on feeding pigs kitchen waste. The ban was later extended to 15 days, to account for the incubation period of the virus
The ceasefire in the Middle East is a rare cause for celebration in that war-torn region. Hamas has released all of the living hostages it captured on Oct. 7, 2023, regular combat operations have ceased, and Israel has drawn closer to its Arab neighbors. Israel, with crucial support from the United States, has achieved all of this despite concerted efforts from the forces of darkness to prevent it. Hamas, of course, is a longtime client of Iran, which in turn is a client of China. Two years ago, when Hamas invaded Israel — killing 1,200, kidnapping 251, and brutalizing countless others
Art and cultural events are key for a city’s cultivation of soft power and international image, and how politicians engage with them often defines their success. Representative to Austria Liu Suan-yung’s (劉玄詠) conducting performance and Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen’s (盧秀燕) show of drumming and the Tainan Jazz Festival demonstrate different outcomes when politics meet culture. While a thoughtful and professional engagement can heighten an event’s status and cultural value, indulging in political theater runs the risk of undermining trust and its reception. During a National Day reception celebration in Austria on Oct. 8, Liu, who was formerly director of the
RSS