The government is considering establishing stores in big cities to sell authentic made-in-Taiwan (MIT) products as part of its effort to curb rampant Chinese counterfeiting, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said yesterday.
Lai said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Wednesday instructed the Ministry of Economic Affairs to set up a task force in charge of cracking down on smuggled Chinese goods when he visited a bedding company in Tainan and after listening to the grievances of business representatives.
Ma’s visit was part of his nationwide campaign to promote an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) the administration intends to sign with Beijing next month.
Lai said the government hoped the trial-run stores would allow consumers easier access to the 4,000 locally made products with made-in-Taiwan authentication, which guarantees high quality and reasonable prices.
Lai accused the former Democratic Progressive Party administration of doing a bad job on cracking down on Chinese contraband and therefore creating an unfair environment for local businesses that had to compete with cheaper and inferior Chinese bootlegged products.
On an ECFA, Lai said that while 17 traditional businesses could be hurt by the proposed accord, the negotiating team would “do its best” to exclude them from the “early harvest” list.
The “early harvest” list refers to a list of goods and services that will be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions, which are expected to form the backbone of the proposed deal.
Lai said Taipei and Beijing agreed during the last round of negotiations in Taoyuan last month that China would “do its best” to prevent the trade pact from affecting Taiwan’s weaker industries.
“The firewall is secured,” she said.
While neither side revealed their “early harvest” lists during the last round of negotiations, Lai said yesterday that if the items China wished to include in the “early harvest” list were businesses targeting the local market, it would definitely deal a significant blow to them because local Taiwanese products would have to compete with cheaper Chinese products.
Lai denied that the country is compelled by the WTO to open up 90 percent of the market to China within 10 years after the trade deal is signed.
“It is not compulsory,” she said. “An ECFA is not a free-trade agreement demanding the parties to open up their respective markets immediately after the agreement is signed. An ECFA is an economic agreement in the spirit of the WTO, but it has the unique features of both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”
There was too much “false information” and “misunderstanding” about an ECFA, she said, adding that the administration would “proceed gradually and carefully every step on the way” and take into consideration the development of the country’s overall economy and business sectors during the process.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS