President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday ordered the Cabinet to prepare to protect the Taiwan Stock Exchange from the fallout from roiling global markets, after the TAIEX fell to its worst-ever intra-day drop, burdened by falling Chinese equities and the nation’s stagnant economy.
Ma gave the instructions during the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the Presidential Office Building, Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said.
The TAIEX plummeted a record 583.5 points — or 7.49 percent — to 7,203 at about 10:24am, before regaining some ground to end the trading day down 376.58 points, or 4.84 percent, at 7,410.34 on turnover of NT$144.886 billion (US$4.4 billion).
Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) had his aides convene a meeting of the National Stabilization Fund Committee to discuss whether to use the fund to bolster the local market amid the global turmoil, Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) told reporters.
If the committee decides to allow the fund to be used to prevent a further decline in the TAIEX, the Cabinet would issue a statement to that effect, Sun said.
Mao has instructed Vice Premier Simon Chang (張善政) to closely monitor the situation and the measures that the relevant ministries are taking to address the stock market’s volatility, Sun said.
His instructions came one day after the government banned short-selling below the previous session’s closing prices and urged banks to buy back their stocks in a bid to stabilize the market.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that the Legislative Yuan could convene its new session ahead of schedule to provide some alternatives for the government to stabilize the stock situation.
If such measures call for the amendment of laws, the legislature would be ready to act, Wang said.
The Legislative Yuan is scheduled to start its next session on Sept. 15.
The KMT is “willing to support an early start to the legislative session if the measure would help stabilize the stock market,” KMT Central Policy Committee executive director Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said both parties would have to meet and discuss the viability of such a move.
It is not as if the local market would rebound simply because the Legislative Yuan is to begin its session early, Tsai said.
The domestically designed Teng Yun 2 drone passed development milestones over the weekend, flying for more than 10 hours straight and circling Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in the longest flight of an indigenous uncrewed combat aerial vehicle. Developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the Teng Yun 2, or “Cloud Rider” (騰雲二型), recorded its longest flight yet over the weekend, after a three-hour test flight last month, followed by five and seven-hour stretches in the air. The Teng Yun 2 No. 1812 departed from Chiashan Air Base in Hualien County at 6:46pm on Saturday and flew on a
OVER THE HUMP: In a seven-day period ending on Wednesday, the nation reported 366,628 new cases, down 19 percent from the 451,358 reported in the previous week The nation might further open up to more arrivals in the next two months, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 48,283 new local COVID-19 cases, down from more than 50,000 in the previous few days. Taiwan on Wednesday last week introduced a plan to allow up to 25,000 arrivals per week as part of efforts to gradually reopen borders, which includes reducing mandatory quarantines for inbound travelers from seven to three days, followed by four days in “self-initiated epidemic prevention.” The quota covers inbound Taiwanese arrivals, businesspeople and migrant workers. Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it is monitoring Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship movements near Taiwan, after the Japanese Ministry of Defense disclosed that Chinese vessels made a rare voyage between Yilan County and Japan’s Yonaguni. The Japanese ministry on Wednesday said that two Chinese navy ships on Tuesday diverted from their usual route of entering the Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait and for the first time traveled there between Yilan and Yonaguni. The Japan Self-Defense Forces said that it picked up the presence of China’s Type-056A Jiangdao-class corvette 220km north of Yonaguni at 9am on Tuesday. The
A slew of new measures are to take effect on Friday, including nationwide bring-your-own-cup discounts. The new rule requires chain beverage shops to offer discounts of at least NT$5 (US$0.17) to customers who bring their own cups, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said. The policy would apply to more than 50,000 chain retail locations, including beverage shops, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants and supermarkets. It aims to cut down on waste from single-use plastic cups, more than 2.2 billion of which were used in Taiwan in 2020, the agency said. For convenience, the EPA said it has asked retailers to display signs stating how