Minister Without Portfolio Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that the nation’s industries are expected to benefit from “four trillions” in the buildup to 2025, which should spur economic growth.
Kung said the US-China trade dispute is not likely to end soon, but presents Taiwan with challenges and opportunities.
The first trillion would be comprised of investment by local firms returning from China amid the trade dispute, which is currently at NT$430 billion (US$13.79 billion) and is expected to reach NT$600 billion to NT$700 billion later this year and surpass the NT$1 trillion mark in 2021 or 2022, he said.
The second trillion would comprise the fund the government is set to budget for the second phase of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program in the coming fiscal year, which totals about NT$400 billion, coupled with an estimated increase in remittances on the back of the passage of the Act on the Use and Taxation on the Inward Remittance of Overseas Funds (境外資金匯回管理運用及課稅條例), he said.
The act is valid for two years and analysts have said that if things go well, it would be able to attract between NT$900 billion and NT$1 trillion of funds held overseas, and between NT$100 billion and NT$200 billion in the worst-case scenario, he said.
The estimate is derived using a conservative estimate of NT$500 billion in remittances, which in conjunction with the fund for the infrastructure program should reach NT$1 trillion, he added.
The third trillion would be contributed by investment in offshore wind farms, which is expected to reach NT$1 trillion, in addition to the creation of about 20,000 new jobs, Kung said.
The fourth trillion would be jointly provided by the semiconductor manufacturing industry and Internet of Things applications, he said.
The four trillions would provide the economy with a solid foundation for the next 20 years, and provide the opportunities and momentum needed to sustain growth amid the challenges posed by the trade dispute, he added.
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
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
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