Now is the best time for Taiwanese businesses to return home, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a Lunar New Year banquet in Taipei for Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China.
At the Grand Hotel yesterday, Tsai said that although she is no longer Mainland Affairs Council minister, her concern for overseas businesspeople remains the same.
While the Taiwanese economy faces challenges such as a global economic slowdown and weakening trade demand, and changes in US-China trade relations, these challenges also present an opportunity for improvements, Tsai said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
To respond to these challenges, the government is working on three major initiatives: expanding domestic demand, assisting overseas businesses to return and invest in Taiwan, and marketing Taiwan globally, she said.
The government hopes that an increase in domestic demand could offset the decline in exports and allow the economy to grow at a steady rate, she said, adding that she looks forward to overseas businesspeople playing an important role in this process.
For overseas Taiwanese businesses, the most effective response to global economic conditions would be to move production back to Taiwan, she added.
Now is the best opportunity, she said, calling on overseas businesses to switch their products from being “made by Taiwanese businesses” to being “made in Taiwan.”
Taiwan welcomes returning businesses with open arms, she said, adding that this year, the government proposed a business-oriented action plan devoted to eliminating investment hurdles.
A customized, one-stop service integrates various aspects of investment, such as land, labor, water supply, electricity and taxes, she said.
The government is working with greater intensity on developing strategic partnerships with countries covered by the New Southbound Policy, she said.
Straits Exchange Foundation Chairwoman Katharine Chang (張小月) said that nearly 600 guests — the highest in years — attended the banquet, which was sponsored by the foundation, the Mainland Affairs Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Chinese National Federation of Industries and the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China.
At the banquet, Tsai also discussed cross-strait relations, saying: “We have never opposed cross-strait exchanges.”
Given China’s geographic proximity, it is natural and inevitable that the two countries would interact in areas affecting tourists, businesses and marriages, she said.
However, these interactions should not be restricted or disturbed by any sort of political framework or preconditions, she said, adding that only with equal dignity can Taiwan and China create a mutually beneficial situation.
Taiwan, as a responsible member of the international community, would continue maintain stable cross-strait relations, but that responsibility should be shouldered by all players in the region, Tsai said.
Chang said that cross-strait exchanges should be founded on humanity and kindness, adding that no political preconditions should be set.
She said she hopes that Taiwanese businesspeople in China would not be put in a difficult position.
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
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
TIMING: 'The CHIPS Act funding is crucial for us. In other words, if the act’s passage is delayed for too long, we will certainly need to adjust,’ chairwoman Doris Hsu said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) plans to start construction on a US$5 billion wafer fabrication facility in Texas in November, after passage of the US$52 billion Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act. The fab would be the largest of its kind in the US and one of the largest in the world, with a monthly capacity of 1.2 million wafers, GlobalWafers said, adding that the investment would be the first new fab in the US in more than 20 years and critical to closing a semiconductor supply chain gap. The world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier said the project, which
COUNTERING CHINA: ‘When democracies demonstrate what we can do ... I have no doubt that we’ll win that competition every time,’ US President Joe Biden said US President Joe Biden rebooted his effort to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) after an earlier campaign faltered, enlisting the support of G7 leaders at their summit in Germany. The Build Back Better World initiative, named after Biden’s domestic spending and climate agenda, struggled to get off the ground because not enough G7 partners contributed financially when it was unveiled a year ago, people familiar with its lack of progress said. “When democracies demonstrate what we can do — all that we have to offer — I have no doubt that we’ll win that competition every time,” Biden said during