More honest than Ma
Although he was stating the obvious, it was music to my ears to hear Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) say that China is Taiwan’s enemy (“Taiwan-China ties remain adversarial: minister of defense,” Oct. 22, page 4).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) recently said that relations between China and Taiwans are not international relations. This statement was obviously well-received in China, where it likely made the Chinese Communist Party jump up and down with joy.
Through his efforts to placate China by making such a statement, Ma has insulted Taiwanese and in particular, the military.
Yen is stating the obvious when he says that China and Taiwan are adversaries, especially when one considers that China has 1,700 missiles aimed at Taiwan.
Thank you for speaking the truth, Minister Yen.
Dave Hall
Taipei
Service pact can hurt schools
The signing in June of the cross-strait service trade agreement in Shanghai will have a huge impact on the private language learning environment in Taiwan and across the Taiwan Strait in China. The pact, which is currently being stifled in the legislature by opposition groups, will certainly include the private language school sector.
The largest organizations in Taiwan will be able to benefit from economies of scale by expanding into China. The largest private language school in the nation already has a branch across the Strait. It will certainly be eager to gain access to the rest of the lucrative Chinese market, if the service pact is passed.
In addition to the service pact, a proposed amendment to the Supplementary Education Act (補習及教育進修法) is also being stifled in the legislature. The draft amendment is aimed at introducing stricter regulations on private language education for children in cram schools under the age of six.
An article appeared on the Taipei Times’ front page regarding this amendment and its proposed impact on private language learning in cram schools (“Stricter rules on language learning for kids proposed,” Aug. 30, page 1).
Will a free-trade agreement between Taiwan and China really benefit the whole private language sector in Taiwan, or will only the largest organizations survive? How can the smaller language schools benefit? Will they be able to survive in the tough business world where the larger organizations can benefit from economies of scale?
The service trade agreement will allow large amounts of Taiwanese capital to leave these shores. Taiwanese private language schools will be able to open many new branches in Chinese cities. The service pact does not stipulate where the company should declare its income, ie in Taiwan or China. So, which government would receive the schools’ corporate tax?
The service trade pact must be debated in the legislature by politicians and the input of economics professors must be considered. Close economic integration between China and Taiwan will inevitably lead to arguments over tax harmonization and therefore, closer political integration will be the next logical step.
Taiwan needs to look at the EU as a model. The bloc is currently experiencing a recession and countries within it that have higher taxation rates are undergoing tough austerity measures to try to balance their books. European politicians cannot agree on tax harmonization rates across the EU.
Greece is in a deep recession, but Germany is not. There is a free-trade agreement between these two countries, but this has not prevented Greece from exiting its recession. So will a free-trade agreement between Taiwan and China really improve the living standards of all Taiwanese?
In the EU, having free-trade agreements has not led to a better standard of living for all citizens of the member countries. Look at Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy. They have high rates of unemployment and high levels of national debt. Does Taiwan want to go down the same path?
I urge Taiwanese politicians to carefully debate the pros and cons of entering any free-trade agreement with China. Any hasty cross-strait economic pact could have detrimental ramifications for the nation.
Paul Gilford
Taipei
Whether in terms of market commonality or resource similarity, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is the biggest competitor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). The two companies have agreed to set up factories in the US and are also recipients of subsidies from the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by former US president Joe Biden. However, changes in the market competitiveness of the two companies clearly reveal the context behind TSMC’s investments in the US. As US semiconductor giant Intel Corp has faced continuous delays developing its advanced processes, the world’s two major wafer foundries, TSMC and
The first Donald Trump term was a boon for Taiwan. The administration regularized the arms sales process and enhanced bilateral ties. Taipei will not be so fortunate the second time around. Given recent events, Taiwan must proceed with the assumption that it cannot count on the United States to defend it — diplomatically or militarily — during the next four years. Early indications suggested otherwise. The nomination of Marco Rubio as US Secretary of State and the appointment of Mike Waltz as the national security advisor, both of whom have expressed full-throated support for Taiwan in the past, raised hopes that
I came to Taiwan to pursue my degree thinking that Taiwanese are “friendly,” but I was welcomed by Taiwanese classmates laughing at my friend’s name, Maria (瑪莉亞). At the time, I could not understand why they were mocking the name of Jesus’ mother. Later, I learned that “Maria” had become a stereotype — a shorthand for Filipino migrant workers. That was because many Filipino women in Taiwan, especially those who became house helpers, happen to have that name. With the rapidly increasing number of foreigners coming to Taiwan to work or study, more Taiwanese are interacting, socializing and forming relationships with
Authorities last week revoked the residency permit of a Chinese social media influencer surnamed Liu (劉), better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), who has more than 440,000 followers online and is living in Taiwan with a marriage-based residency permit, for her “reunification by force” comments. She was asked to leave the country in 10 days. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) on Tuesday last week announced the decision, citing the influencer’s several controversial public comments, including saying that “China does not need any other reason to reunify Taiwan with force” and “why is it [China] hesitant
RSS