Local government heads in central Taiwan proposed on Saturday that a free-trade zone be set up at Taichung Harbor in Taichung County to attract foreign investment.
The proposal was made at a regular meeting of the local leaders in response to a request by Japanese trading enterprise Itochu, Taichung City Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) said.
Itochu’s representative in Taiwan said it hoped authorities would establish a free-trade zone in central Taiwan as a convenient investment hub, Hu said.
Itochu deals in textiles, machinery, information and communications, metals, oil and other energy sources, general merchandise, chemicals and foods. It has 17 domestic and 139 overseas offices.
Hu said that Itochu had invested heavily in China and that a free-trade zone in Taiwan would help it cut logistics costs between China and Japan, while creating new business opportunities for central Taiwan and benefiting all three countries, Hu said.
He said the newly developed Central Taiwan Science Park and cross-strait weekend charter flights launched in July had prompted Itochu’s interest in central Taiwan.
Lai Ying-hsi (賴英錫), director-general of Taichung County’s Department of Construction, said that Taichung Harbor would be a good free-trade location, given its size and direct access to shipping routes.
Investors could also use Taichung Airport, which is near the port and located within Taichung County, Lai said.
Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) said many foreign enterprises might hesitate to invest in a free-trade zone, as regulations stipulate that at least 5 percent of a foreign company’s workers must be Aboriginal to qualify.
Cho said the central government should consider changing the rule to create an investment environment more favorable to foreign enterprises.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
RSS