Vice Premier and Council for Economic Planning and Development Chairman Lin Hsin-i (林信義) said yesterday that the impact of a short war between the US and Iraq on the domestic economy would be limited.
At a legislative question-and-answer session, Lin said that a war lasting from three to six weeks would have no major impact on Taiwan's exports and imports.
Lin said that a prolonged military conflict would hamper outbound shipments.
Lin also made it clear that Taiwan will support the US and its campaign against terrorism should war break out.
Responding to a question about a domestic steel shortage raised by PFP caucus whip Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Ruey-long (陳瑞隆) said government agencies, including the one in charge of raw materials and major products, have set up task forces to tackle the possible consequences of a war.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has also asked China Steel Corp (CSC) -- Taiwan's leading supplier of steel materials -- to satisfy domestic demand before exporting its products, Chen said, adding that demand for steel might surge in the international market in the post-war construction period.
In the face of rising international prices for steel goods and the many disgruntled mid- and downstream steelmakers at home, Chen said the ministry has crafted measures to secure supplies for the domestic market by preventing CSC-contracted wholesalers from exporting unprocessed raw materials.
PFP lawmakers said earlier the same day that various CSC mid-stream suppliers have exported unprocessed raw materials and hiked prices, making it difficult for local downstream businesses to buy steel at reasonable prices.
Hsieh Chang-chieh (
"Law-enforcement authorities should intervene to ensure a balanced demand and supply at reasonable prices," Hsieh argued.
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
RSS