Political uncertainty stemming from opposition leader Lien Chan's (
"Political disorder could cause overseas investors to flee from local stock markets, which in turn could weaken the local currency and further damage Taiwan's economy," said William Lin (
Lin's warning came after Lien demanded a ballot recount and called on the Central Election Commission to nullify the vote following his loss in the poll.
Political upheaval aside, economists said President Chen Shui-bian's (
Taiwan's unemployment fell to 4.53 percent, a 30-month low, in January from a high of 5.35 percent in August 2002.
During his campaign, Chen pledged to lift the nation's economic growth to above 5 percent this year, fueled by exports to China.
Demand from across the Taiwan Strait accounted for nearly a quarter of the nation's exports last year.
According to government statistics, China surpassed the US last year to become Taiwan's biggest trade partner, with trade volume surging to US$46.3 billion, up nearly 24 percent from 2002.
But Chen's re-election may dash most local enterprises' hope of a rapid improvement in trade ties with China, another economist said.
"I can't foresee any opportunity for Chen to make a breakthrough during his second term because of his party's political inclination," said Huo The-ming (
Direct air and shipping links with China could clip NT$14.8 billion annually from business expenses while adding more than a percentage point to annual economic growth, according to government estimates.
Evergreen Group Chairman Chang Yung-fa (
Cross-strait talks have been stalled since Chen first won the presidency four years ago.
Beijing is likely to continue to look on Chen with suspicion.
"Anticipation of benefits from better bilateral trade ties are likely to fade," Huo said.
Chen said after winning the 2000 election that he would work to restore cross-strait transportation links -- a first step toward direct trade. But his efforts have largely fallen flat.
Lien made promises regarding the improvement of cross-strait transportation links before the election.
"The pace for lifting the ban could slow, but we will continue to push the government to formulate a timetable," said Deng Wen-chung (
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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