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.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
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