The Executive Yuan yesterday outlined an implementation plan for the government’s “new southbound policy,” which is aimed at boosting ties with 16 ASEAN and South Asian nations, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
The plan is based on four principles — economic cooperation, special talent exchange programs, resource sharing and regional integration — and will pave the way for a regional economic community, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) said.
Businesses that are among the nation’s flagship industries, such as oil refining, power generation, environmental protection, electronic toll collection and the Internet of Things, will be the first to be marketed to partner nations, Deng said.
Photo: CNA
A trade office “Taiwan Desk” is to be established in other nations to streamline communication between local governments and Taiwanese businesses, he said.
The Executive Yuan will also establish a trade negotiation office — led by Deng — to direct negotiations with 18 partner nations, and the office is to operate independently of the Presidential Office’s New Southbound Policy Office.
“A ‘national team’ will be established to help Taiwanese businesses reach out to foreign markets and find their niche,” Development Council Deputy Minister Kao Shien-quey (高仙桂) said.
“The new southbound policy differs from previous ones in that the government seeks to establish bilateral economic partnerships with Southeast Asian nations instead of unilaterally seeking subcontracts and investment opportunities in those nations,” Kao said.
Kao said that the Council of Agriculture will establish a company to market Taiwanese products and provide technical assistance to other nations, while the Ministry of Science and Technology will launch technology exchange programs focusing on disaster prevention.
Skilled immigrant workers will be eligible to apply for long-term residency and professional certification programs, while the language skills of new immigrants and their children will be used to attract more Southeast Asian tourists and teach Southeast Asian languages to Taiwanese, she said.
The number of occupational training programs is to be increased to raise the number of international students from 28,000 to 56,000 by 2019.
Scholarships are to be provided to Taiwanese students to pursue education opportunities in partner nations, where Taiwanese colleges are to establish campuses.
The government is to invest NT$4.2 billion (US$133.31 million) to implement the policy, she said.
In response to a question on how Taiwan can compete with rivals like China, when Beijing has invested a lot of time and resources into partnering with Southeast Asian nations, Deng said Taiwan’s edge lies in its “soft power” such as people’s sincerity, hospitality and work ethic.
“There is no need to compete with China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative. Taiwanese businesses will also seek investment opportunities created by the Chinese initiative,” Deng said.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS