The returns on cross-strait economic exchanges may be diminishing because the Chinese economic model is changing, former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan Richard Bush said on Wednesday.
“Taiwan was a real beneficiary of export-led growth relying on essentially cheap labor, abuse of the environment and local corruption,” he said.
However, China was moving away from that model, and Taiwanese companies aiming to position themselves in the middle of the global supply chain had better move with it, he said.
At the same time, Chinese companies that would like to displace their Taiwanese partners are coming to prominence, he added.
Under these circumstances, Taiwan’s economic future cannot rest solely on liberalizing the nation’s relationship with China.
Taipei should beware of “putting all of its eggs in that basket,” he said.
Now director of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, Bush launched his new book Uncharted Strait: the Future of China-Taiwan Relations.
He said that Taiwan needed to deregulate and improve economic relations with all of its major trading partners.
Bush said that although President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) understood that the country had to lift some of its protectionist trade barriers, politically it was extremely tough for him to put new policies into action.
Ma had used some of his political capital and had removed one key barrier involving the import of US beef, Bush said.
“I hope that leads to liberalizing steps between our two countries,” Bush said.
“We all understand how difficult this is to do in Taiwan’s domestic political context, but from a long-term perspective it is essential,” he said.
Bush said that it might be possible for Taipei to reach a separate and independent fisheries agreement with Japan before some kind of general agreement was reached between Beijing and Tokyo over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known in Japan as the Senkakus.
“My personal understanding is that the Ma administration would very much like to see a new fisheries agreement with Japan — if only to improve the livelihood of the Taiwan fishermen,” Bush said.
He added that negotiations for such an agreement had gone on for some time and had now been given “a new urgency.”
“I hope that progress can be made soon, because the fishing season is coming. I don’t think that Beijing would be unhappy if Taiwan reached such an agreement,” Bush said.
He said that Taiwan’s agreements “in the economic area” seemed to be “OK” with Beijing.
Bush said that he wanted to “stress the danger” in the current dispute over the Diaoyutai islands.
“Realistic people understand that resolving the territorial dispute is a long way off, and very difficult,” he said.
One solution might center around “some sort of joint development” of the islands’ resources because that would emphasize cooperation, he added.
“The way countries — particularly China — are operating in the vicinity of the islands is worrisome,” Bush said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS