Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said Taiwan’s economy “is not ill,” adding that the development has been strong over the past decade.
Kung made the statement on the sidelines of a legislative meeting in Taipei, in response to The Economist magazine’s cover story last week about what it called the “Formosan flu.”
The country’s outstanding economic performance stemmed from the government’s three investment programs, launched in response to the US-China trade war, which accelerated the return of Taiwanese businesses, Kung said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Taiwan also secured opportunities in the remote digital business brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the artificial intelligence trend, he said, adding that these factors affected the nation’s economy and exchange rates alone do not shape Taiwan’s strong export performance.
The story said the New Taiwan dollar has been undervalued for a long time and warned of hidden risks behind Taiwan’s prosperity.
Exchange rates are determined by the market dynamics of supply and demand, and the NT dollar has remained relatively stable compared with other countries, Kung said.
“It is strange to describe this kind of economy as ill — it should instead be viewed as a model case,” Kung said.
In comparison, China is facing weak domestic demand and is flooding global markets with low-priced products, creating international turmoil and contributing difficulties for Taiwan’s traditional industries, he said.
“The Economist should instead advise them [China] on how to solve the problem — that would be more meaningful,” Kung added.
Separately, Kung yesterday said the alleged intellectual property theft at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Kung was unlikely to undermine the nation’s semiconductor industry, the ecosystem of which has remained robust and complete for more than 40 years.
“It is not so simple that one person taking away some data can destroy Taiwan’s semiconductor industry,” Kung said, referring to former TSMC senior vice president Lo Wei-jen (羅唯仁) — who allegedly stole the company’s most advanced process technologies, including 2-nanometer, 16A and 14A technologies before joining Intel Corp last month.
The ministry would assist TSMC should it decide to file a lawsuit against Lo, pursuant to the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法), he said, adding that the High Prosecutors’ Office has already launched an investigation under the National Security Act (國家安全法).
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