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.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS