The government will suffocate the island's economy if it sticks with its current policy toward the PRC, said former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (
Hsu, who sailed against the wind in 1999 by advocating "boldly venturing into mainland China" during a presidential campaign in which he was soundly beaten, reiterated his call for direct trade and transportation links as a cure for the island's sagging economy.
"The future of Taiwan's economy lies in mainland China," Hsu said. "The removal of the current limitations on exchanges with mainland China will not only usher in mainland Chinese tourists and capital, but also encourage Taiwan businessmen to make money in mainland China," he said.
Taiwan's economy could not flourish with its businessmen being prohibited from tapping into the booming mainland Chinese market, he said.
The government's restrictions can no longer coop up businessmen on the island, said Hsu, adding that the businessmen from Taiwan are forced to circumvent the regulations if they want to do business with the mainland. The only thing that the government is accomplishing is preventing overseas businessmen from re-injecting foreign capital back into Taiwan, Hsu said.
Noting that Beijing has offered to open direct shipping links across the Taiwan Strait through accords between private carriers and thereby skip the thorny issue of "one China," he encouraged Taiwan authorities to embrace the idea with confidence even though it might make the shipping route a domestic one in nature and confirm Beijing's claim that Taiwan is a part of Chinese territory.
"Domestic shipping links will give Taiwan carriers access to more mainland Chinese harbors which is close to international shipping links," Hsu said.
Furthermore, Hsu said there is no point in emphasizing Taiwan's sovereignty when almost the whole world acknowledges Beijing as the only "China." What matters, he said, is to maintain Taiwan's defacto independence.
He said a local economist's proposal to raise the cap on the loans that the government may raise as a way to stimulate economic growth with government expenditure was like "robbing Peter to pay Paul."
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