Managing cross-strait economic relations and strengthening relations with the US are among the challenges facing Taiwan’s new Cabinet, a Taipei-based US trade group said.
The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taipei made the remarks in last month’s issue of its monthly publication, Topics, saying the new government of Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) will face a host of challenges, starting with the need to prove its competence and efficiency in carrying out reconstruction in the areas hard-hit by Typhoon Morakot in early August.
“The former Cabinet was replaced because it evidently did not meet the high demands and expectations of the Taiwan public. It will now be up to Premier Wu and his ministers to show that they are up to the task,” a Topics editorial said.
In moving ahead on a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China, the government will need to make its case more clearly to the public on why such a pact is so crucial to preserving and protecting Taiwan’s export markets in China and the region, the editorial said.
It said that other topics high on the new Cabinet’s list include developing Taiwan into a regional financial center, funding the national health care system, shoring up Taiwan’s international economic competitiveness and balancing advances in cross-strait ties while strengthening relations with the US — Taiwan’s most important source of international support.
While the political environment in Washington makes it unfeasible for the US to negotiate a free-trade agreement with any country, including Taiwan, and discussion of a bilateral investment agreement has been stalled because of procedural complications, Taiwan and the US could explore other mechanisms to further the economic relationship, the editorial said.
“If that can be done, Taiwan would feel a greater sense of confidence and security as it engages China,” it said.
On the financial aspect, the editorial said that several proposed regulations threaten to undermine Taiwan’s competitiveness in the banking, insurance and assets management industries.
It said the Executive Yuan, by liaising with the legislature and coordinating between the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Finance, is in a position to ensure that Taiwan’s attractiveness in the financial services sector is not eroded.
The editorial also warned that as long as the financial soundness of hospitals in Taiwan rely on ever-larger discounts from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, Taiwanese patients’ access to new and innovative treatments will be restricted and Taiwan will be unable to draw the investment needed to build a flourishing biotech industry.
In terms of improving Taiwan’s international economic competitiveness, the editorial said this could be accomplished by improving the fairness, transparency and consistency of the regulatory process, and by adhering to international practices rather than trying to devise Taiwan-unique solutions.
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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