One year after the government convened the Economic Development Advisory Conference (EDAC), officials and scholars noted yesterday that non-economic factors have stalled the implementation of various proposals.
KMT Legislator Chiang Ping-kun (
Chiang, who helped organize the cross-party event last year, said political factors have played a major role in hampering the revival of the economy.
Echoing President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), he said domestic political chaos has sapped investors' confidence, which in turn has dimmed overall economic performance.
The former economics minister suggested that the government strive to mend fences with China and the opposition parties at home to reverse the situation.
He particularly called for the lifting of a ban on direct transport across the Strait, saying the measure would provide enterprises the incentive to leave their headquarters in Taiwan when they move their manufacturing plants to China.
"Other measures pale in comparison with direct flight [to China] in improving the investment environment," Chiang told a seminar held by the National Policy Foundation.
Jonathan Liu (
Liu said he shared the view of pursuing reconciliation across the Strait and at home and that the government has made great strides toward this aim.
"Under President Chen, the government has repeatedly conveyed goodwill in the hope of ending the cross-strait gridlock," Liu said. "The stance remains unchanged. That is why we abandoned the `no haste, be patient' guideline when reviewing China-bound investment plans."
In line with the "active opening, effective management" doctrine, the Cabinet in March gave its nod to requests by local chip manufacturers to establish eight-inch wafer foundries in China.
Former New Party Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
Lai, who also took part in the economic forum, said he saw little effort being made to realize the assorted findings.
He noted that only 135 overseas Chinese tourists have visited Taiwan since the government permitted such trips eight months ago and that the offshore transshipping center registers a paltry NT$3 million in monthly business volume.
"And to my knowledge, proposals intended to facilitate direct links remain on the drawing board," Lai said.
Lee Jih-chu (
For the same reason, the government here has shied away from giving its go-ahead to local securities houses establishing subsidiaries across the Strait, she said.
Nevertheless, DPP lawmaker Chen Chung-hsin (
Defending the government, he said the replacement of "no haste, be patient" was a great feat and that many findings of the economic conference are still sound.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai