In a late change to its election campaign platform this year, the Democratic Party expanded its commitment to Taiwan, adding two small but important phrases to an earlier draft that virtually ignored the Taiwan issue.
In the final document, which will be presented to the party’s presidential nominating convention in Denver next week, the party added references to the Taiwan Relations Act and the wishes of Taiwanese.
An earlier draft, which was the basis of a Taipei Times story last weekend, only referred to a commitment to the so-called “one-China” policy and the need for a peaceful solution to cross-strait issues.
As amended, the final section on Taiwan is still small. It now reads: “We are committed to a ‘One China’ policy and the Taiwan Relations Act, and will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross Straits [sic] issues that is consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people of Taiwan.”
However, presumptive party presidential candidate Barack Obama has gone beyond those commitments in statements and letters on Taiwan in recent months.
In May, Obama sent a letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) congratulating Ma on his inauguration and offering his support.
“A sound US-Taiwan relationship will certainly be the goal of my administration,” Obama wrote.
“I believe that the United States should strengthen channels of communication with officials of your government. We should continue to provide the arms necessary for Taiwan to deter possible aggression,” he wrote.
The letter, which was believed to have been drafted by Richard Bush, a key Obama advisor and a former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the US’ de facto embassy in the absence of diplomatic ties, called Ma’s election and inauguration “good days for the people of Taiwan, for the forces of democracy around the world and for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and western Pacific.”
It also expressed the hope that China would respond to Ma’s presidency “in a constructive and forward-leaning way.”
The Republican Party, whose convention is at the beginning of next month, is expected to release its platform later this month.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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