President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) joined his party’s effort to further split the pan-green camp yesterday as he praised Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) for defending him from the criticism that he is selling out Taiwan.
“A politician has recently said that I cannot sell out Taiwan. What he said is true,” Ma said, referring to remarks made by Yang, who last week withdrew from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and announced his bid to run as an independent in the year-end Greater Kaohsiung mayoral race.
In a recent interview with CTi TV, Yang said he did have doubts about Ma, who has been criticized for selling out Taiwan.
After working closely with Ma in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, which lashed central and southern Taiwan in August last year, Yang said he had totally changed his perceptions of Ma.
“If Ma really wanted to sell out Taiwan, he could not do it alone,” he said in the interview. “Taiwan is an independent sovereignty. No one can sell out the country because that would need the consent of the people.”
Yang also apologized for his “ideological thinking and remarks” he made when he was a DPP member.
“I know how to sell Taiwanese fruit and fish, but I am not capable of selling out Taiwan,” Ma said in Taichung County yesterday.
He visited a technology firm, which is supposed to benefit from the recently signed cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).
Ma said he understood the ECFA was not a panacea, but it could help local businesses by removing competition barriers and improving Taiwan’s competitiveness.
“In the past, it was like our businesses were wearing iron shoes so they could not run fast,” he said.
“Now with the ECFA, they are wearing the lightest running shoes in the world so they can easily win the first prize,” he said.
Ma said the trade deal has motivated many companies to keep their roots in Taiwan or increase their investment here. The agreement has also attracted foreign investors, he said.
In addition to drawing investment, Ma said the ECFA would lower tariffs and encourage other countries to “open their doors,” which he added would help advance economic integration in Asia.
Ma has said that after the “early harvest” program comes into effect on Jan. 1, he expected to see the program boost Taiwan’s GDP by 0.4 percent, create more than NT$190 billion (US$5.9 billion) in output value and produce a net employment gain of 600,000.
The early harvest list refers to a list of goods and services that will be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions, which forms the backbone of the proposed deal.
China has agreed to gradually lower tariffs for 539 categories of imports, with an estimated value of US$13.8 billion a year. Beijing also agreed to open 11 service categories and 18 farming and fishery categories.
Although the 539 categories of traded goods accounted for only 16 percent of China-bound exports, the administration said they were still conducive to overall economic development.
Chinese exporters, on the other hand, will get a reciprocal deal on 267 items, with an estimated value of US$2.9 billion a year.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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