A mature and open economy like Taiwan should not bank on the establishment of special economic zones to drive economic development, and even if they are necessary, they would be completely different from what President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has proposed, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
“The DPP will demand that the government submit a comprehensive plan and assessment on how the free economic pilot zones would help upgrade Taiwan’s industry and benefit local sectors before agreeing to review the special statute awaiting screening in the legislature. The party does not rule out proposing its own initiative,” Tsai said at the conclusion of the DPP’s two-day policy meeting in Greater Taichung.
The meeting, which gathered party officials, lawmakers and mayors and commissioners of DPP-governed administrative zones or their deputies, was organized to discuss several agenda set to be screened in the extra legislative session that begins on Friday. Yesterday it focused on the topics of the free economic pilot zones and the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Participants at the meeting agreed that the concept of special economic zones — found more often in lesser-developed countries, such as China — should be avoided because it would mean extending different treatments to businesses in the same sector, creating unequal competition.
The policy, the crown jewel of Ma’s “Golden Decade” pledge, aims to set up free economic pilot zones in Keelung Port, Suao Port in Yilan County, Taipei Port, Taichung Port, Anping Port in Greater Tainan, Kaohsiung Port, the Taoyuan Aerotropolis in Taoyuan County and the Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park to serve as models for business convenience and liberalization.
“The real, important issue today is not how many free economic pilot zones we would have and which city would have pilot zones, but whether the establishment of such a zone is legitimate and goal-oriented,” Tsai said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has accused the DPP of inconsistency, saying party headquarters and local DPP government heads appear to be at loggerheads, with Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung both demanding the right to host the zones.
Former minister of finance and DPP consultant Lin Chuan (林全) countered that the KMT’s economic growth-focused policy was outdated, with the government stuck in the “export processing zone era” of the 1970s and 1980s.
What the government needs to do is draw up a grand strategy that will benefit Taiwan as a whole rather than simply establishing special economic zones across the country, opening “backdoors” for Chinese agricultural products, personnel, wild animal trade as well as medical and education services, among others, he said.
The DPP is set to unveil its economic strategy that is founded on three elements: innovation, employment and distribution, Lin said.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the free economic pilot zone proposal needs to be overhauled and the DPP would insist on a clause-by-clause screening during the extra legislative session.
The senior lawmaker added that the KMT has relied on “old thinking” to deal with rapidly changing economic challenges, adding that providing tax incentives had proven to be an ineffective measure in attracting foreign investment.
The two-day meeting also discussed constitutional reform, with the party calling for the abolition of the Control Yuan and the Examination Yuan in the long term.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard