Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said he is not opposed to stronger economic ties with China, even as the administration looks to boost its trade links with the US and Southeast Asia.
China is a big market and many industries across the Taiwan Strait complement each other, Lin, 65, said in his first interview with foreign media since he was sworn in almost a year ago.
“We shouldn’t push it away,” Lin said at his offices in Taipei on Friday.
Photo: Anthony Kwan, Bloomberg
“As it is a huge market over there in mainland China, it behooves Taiwan to maintain friendly, smooth economic relations,” Lin said. “In doing that, there’s no downside for Taiwan.”
“So as far as trade and the division of labor are concerned, the cross-strait economic relationship isn’t something that should be avoided,” Lin said.
Lin’s comments come as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) proposes a new model for cross-strait relations with a focus on structural cooperation.
It is a careful balance: Some lawmakers in Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) criticized her predecessor for a perceived over-reliance on China, which accounted for as much as 41.8 percent of Taiwan’s exports during Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
While Lin’s portfolio includes the economy, relations with China are overseen by Tsai.
Lin said Taiwan also wants to foster trade links with other nations to reduce domestic anxiety over a dependence on China. Chinese opposition to such moves could hurt ties, he added.
“He was addressing the objective reality,” according to Alexander Huang, chairman of the Taipei-based Council on Strategic & Wargaming Studies. “The high reliance results from the choice of businesses like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Foxconn Technology Group, instead of governments.”
Free-trade deals are necessary for a small, open economy like Taiwan, Lin said.
“We will adopt low-key and pragmatic measures to establish better economic relations with other countries,” the former minister of finance minister and Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics director-general said.
Lin said a US free-trade pact could help enhance the competitiveness of Taiwanese products, though he added it would depend on US interest in having such talks. Taipei could also seek discussions with the EU, he said.
Tsai said in March that Taiwan and the US should engage in talks on trade as a matter of priority.
“Both sides should have frank and substantive discussions and work toward a new bilateral trade agreement,” she said.
Ongoing talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement will provide a forum to discuss related issues, American Institute in Taiwan Director Kin Moy said in March.
Tsai’s administration is also seeking closer ties with Australia, New Zealand, the 10 members of the ASEAN and six South Asian countries. In the period from June last year to March, inbound visitors from those areas surged 23 percent on-year to 1.63 million, according to a Cabinet statement.
Still, “China will see this as not just an economic issue but a political one,” Lin said, adding “that’s regrettable for us.”
“China should think these things through more clearly,” he said. “If Taiwan establishes better economic ties with other countries, it’s not just good for Taiwan, it’s good for economic ties across the Strait.”
Diversified economic relations could help counter domestic objections to economic links with Beijing, Lin said.
“Only when Taiwan has better economic relationships with other countries can Taiwan and China share closer economic ties and more opportunities,” he said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS