Electronics, information and communications products are the pillars of the nation’s exports, accounting for about half of outbound shipments, but sales data released by key manufacturers and last week’s foreign-trade figures point to a cooling technology cycle, with US-China trade tensions having weighed on the value and volume of exports late last year.
To make matters worse, Apple Inc on Jan. 2 cut its revenue forecast for the year-end holiday quarter due to China’s economic slowdown. The revision was Apple’s first profit warning since 2002 and raised concerns about the continued longevity of its record-breaking run, as well as the business outlook for its suppliers in Asia, many of whom are in Taiwan.
Like those of other Asian economies, Taiwan’s export performance is bound to be negatively affected by developments in the global economy. Weakening global demand, changes in the electronics cycle and the slowing Chinese economy could lead to lower outbound shipments.
Whether Taiwan can be more resilient in the face of global economic changes than neighboring countries, whether it can bounce back faster once global growth picks up and whether the Cabinet reshuffle can prepare a way through the challenges ahead are the chief questions.
The Cabinet reshuffle President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced on Friday sees Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津), Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮), Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) remain in their posts, after former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who is to be sworn in as the new premier today, urged them to stay and continue improving the local investment environment and economy, local media reported.
The government, whether with the Democratic Progressive Party or the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at its helm, has long had a bad record of personnel changes, often swapping officials too quickly, which has weakened the government’s credibility and led to inconsistent policymaking.
That the top four economics and finance officials are staying is a sign that Tsai’s administration wants to formulate consistent and stable policies, reassure the business community and restore public confidence.
Nevertheless, Shen, Su Jain-rong, Koo and Chen are likely to run into more challenges than before: increasing domestic demand in the face of strong external headwinds in the short term; assisting low-income earners and small businesses during the economic slowdown; regulating the repatriation of offshore capital while curbing property market speculation; amending laws to ensure that the allocation of resources to local governments is fair; smoothing the nation’s transition to green energy while respecting the Nov. 24 referendum results; and gaining membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Experienced ministers will help Su familiarize himself with key economic and financial issues, while alleviating uncertainty through consistent policy development and execution, but the new Cabinet still needs to adopt a pragmatic approach to solving the nation’s thorny economic issues. It will soon become clear whether Su is up to the task this time.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
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Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under