Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) yesterday called for the establishment of a grand coalition government and immediate cross-strait political negotiations to rejuvenate stagnant economic exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
With President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) receiving low approval ratings and domestic politics stagnating due to fierce political competition, it is time to establish a grand coalition government to provide the nation with much needed political mobility to move forward, Hsu said.
“No political party in Taiwan will be able to carry out reform and move this country forward alone,” said Hsu, who unveiled his paper, titled What should Taiwan do?, covering a wide range of national issues, at a press conference.
Hsu said that a grand coalition “is a must-have for Taiwan.”
The former DPP chair, who is known for his moderate policies toward China later in his political career, expressed concern about the nation’s stagnant economy in the two-hour press conference at his office, which also doubles as the Taipei liaison office of China’s Xiamen University.
With 40 percent of exports going to China, Taiwan’s economy is now closely tied with China’s, Hsu said. As any effort by Taiwan to seek regional and global economic integration would be inevitably dictated by Beijing, it is imperative for Taiwan to actively pursue political dialogue with China, so the economy can recover, Hsu said.
Hsu said that Taiwan’s negotiations with China for a trade in goods agreement and a trade in services agreement appeared to be stalling, which could put Taiwanese businesses at a disadvantage if South Korea, Japan and other major economies sign free-trade agreements with China.
The proposed dialogue would not be conducted for political purposes, but rather to save Taiwan’s economy, Hsu said.
Hsu said he recognized that Taiwanese have been reluctant and suspicious about cross-strait political talks, but insisted that dialogue would not be harmful because “it is just dialogue.”
Those who have doubts about the government’s position in the negotiations, including opposition parties, pro-Taiwan independence groups and civic groups, would all be welcome to participate in the talks, Hsu said.
In the statement, which covered 16 A4-size pages, Hsu also touched upon a number of domestic issues, such as the dispute surrounding nuclear energy, pension reform and the establishment of six free economic pilot zones, and criticized the Ma administration for its incompetence.
Hsu said the debate about the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), was “a no-brainer,” adding that the construction must stop because Taiwan cannot afford any risks of a potential nuclear disaster, in particular after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant incident in Japan.
Hsu said Taiwan would be able to generate sufficient electricity through wind power and solar power and called for the privatization of the electricity market in Taiwan.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS