Former US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday arrived Taipei to take part in a forum with prominent Taiwanese business and economic leaders.
He is the first former Fed chairperson to visit Taiwan after the end of their term.
Bernanke is on a multi-legged speaking trip to Asia that has already taken him to Shanghai and will see him join the two-day World Business Forum in Hong Kong next week.
Bernanke is scheduled to meet central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) before attending today’s forum organized by the Chinese-language Business Weekly.
He is expected to exchange views on key economic issues at the forum with industrial leaders such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀), CTBC Bank Co (中國信託銀行) chairman Tung Chao-chin (童兆勤) and former National Development Council minister Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), including the widening wealth gap and the impact of the US’ quantitative easing monetary policy on the world economy.
Earlier yesterday, Bernanke spoke at the Shanghai Forum, telling participants that China needs to create deep and liquid markets to avoid currency risks as it makes the yuan a convertible currency.
“China needs to avoid currency mismatch as it opens its capital account,” he said. “For a currency to be internationally traded, what you need most is liquid markets. A deep market means people can get their money out.”
China is in the final stages of opening up its capital account, giving global investors greater access to its stock and bond markets while making it easier for its citizens to put their money in offshore assets.
A freer flow of funds is needed for policymakers to achieve their goal of getting the yuan recognized as part of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket of reserve currencies when the IMF conducts a review in October.
“When opening the capital account, you need to make sure the economy is strong enough to handle the fund flows out,” Bernanke said.
“An open account is a two-edged sword” and a drop in the currency could cause panic and an exodus of money, he said.
China’s desire to make the yuan an SDR currency is for “pride and image,” Bernanke said.
“If the yuan becomes an SDR currency it won’t have any effect on the average Chinese. It’s mainly symbolic,” he said.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
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