Premier Lin Chuan (林全) has called together dozens of high-level officials for a day-long meeting at the end of this week to discuss President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “new southbound policy,” which has been dogged by concerns over a perceived lack of a concrete plan and unclear divisions of responsibility.
According to an Executive Yuan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, following the conclusion of the legislature’s plenary session tomorrow, Lin will shift his focus to the planning and execution of the new southbound policy, which was officially announced by the Executive Yuan last month.
Those set to attend Friday’s meeting are Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀), Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) and Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), the official said.
The gathering of high-level Executive Yuan members underscores the government’s emphasis on its southbound policy, the official said.
In light of Beijing’s continued reduction of the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan since Tsai’s inauguration in May, the government has repeatedly tried to demonstrate its goodwill toward China and called for cross-strait dialogue, the official said.
“Yet Beijing has so far chosen to adopt cold-shoulder tactics, which is why the government intends to promote the new southbound policy to facilitate strategic trade alliances and draw tourists from Southeast Asian countries,” the official said.
The premier is to hear a comprehensive report by the concerned government officials at Friday’s meeting with the idea of giving him a better grasp of the potential problems facing the policy.
The guidelines for the new southbound policy were passed on Aug. 16 during a Presidential Office meeting on foreign trade strategy that Tsai presided over, and the Executive Yuan on Sept. 5 announced the plan it had drawn up in accordance with the guidelines.
The Executive Yuan’s plan states that the new southbound policy is to target 18 countries, including the 10 members of ASEAN, South Asian nations, Australia and New Zealand, which it aims to collaborate with in terms of economic cooperation, special talent exchanges, resource sharing and regional integration.
However, lawmakers have voiced concern about the plan, as the government has only allocated a budget of NT$4.2 billion (US$133.61 million) for the policy next year, which is to be divided among 16 government agencies.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) said seeking to organize the policy with such a limited budget is like trying to put out a burning cart of faggots with a cup of water.
The People First Party has also questioned whether the southbound policy could really help the nation’s small-and-medium enterprises to expand into the Southeast Asian market, as a large part of the budget is earmarked for research, forums and training.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai