The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), which was responsible for former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) strategic planning research for the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed with China, has won the contract for strategic research on South and Southeast Asia related to the new government’s “new southbound policy.”
CIER won a tender by the National Development Council to work on Southeast Asian policy research for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration.
While CIER has said that a different research team would be involved in the new project, staff such as director Ku Ying-hua (顧瑩華) and deputy director Sophia Shih (史惠慈) were members of the ECFA research team, which was run by the Regional Development Study Center, a unit of the institution and the name under which it received the new contract.
The center was responsible for the strategic planning for the ECFA project promoted by the Ma administration, which spent a total of NT$188 million (US$5.99 million) over four years on the research.
In addition to Ku and Shih, associate research fellow Liu Da-nian (劉大年) and council Minister Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝), then an adviser to CIER, were also on the ECFA research team. The four at the time were allegedly referred to in academic circles as the “ECFA gang of four.”
When asked about being a member of the so-called “ECFA gang of four,” Chen refused to comment.
CIER chairman Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正) said that of the nation’s think tanks, CIER is the only institution that has a Southeast Asian research center, which Hu said left no doubt that it would be more than appropriate for it to undertake the project in terms of expertise and experience.
Hu said research would mainly be carried out by Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center research fellows, who are experts with years of experience in the area.
However, bidding information revealed that the contract’s research is to be carried out by a team little different from that at the Regional Development Study Center, instead of the ASEAN studies center.
Hu refused to provide details on the execution of the research plan, saying CIER signed a nondisclosure agreement with the government.
According to information released by the government, the council had announced the tender for “Southeast Asian and South Asian Economic Situation and Strategic Research” at an estimated procurement cost of NT$1.5 million.
The council said the tender offer was announced before May 20, the day the new government took office, adding that research results provided by think tanks, such as CIER or the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, were only for reference.
Planning for the new southbound policy is to be carried out by the council in accordance with the directives of the Executive Yuan, the council said.
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