The government's 浽o slow, be patient policy on investment in China will be adjusted if China shows its 浽oodwill, Vice President and KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) said yesterday.
He also promised to slash income tax and expand the taxation base to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.
涆he `go-slow, be patient' policy is a strategy, not a purpose, a process, not a final result; a transitional policy rather than an irreversable rule, said Lien.
洍f the rights of Taiwanese businessmen in China can be fully assured, we can consider adjusting this policy, he added.
The policy, enforced since 1997, restricts Taiwanese investment in China for certain industries and above US$50 million in sum. Its rationale has been to prevent Taiwan from becoming overly dependent on China as an investment destination and to keep sensitive industries at home, such as the high-tech, infrastructure and national defense industries.
Lien, speaking at an annual conference on Taiwan's industrial and commercial development, organized by the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce, also promised to substantially slash income tax and expand the taxation base to narrow the income gap.
Minister of Finance Paul Chiu (邱正雄) said the plan is that the threshold for taxable income will be raised by nearly one-third to NT$82,000 from NT$62,000 when taxpayers claim their tax in 2002.
The proposal would result in a loss of NT$7.4 billion to the state's coffers, which has economists concerned about the strain this would place on already overburdened government finances.
涆he promise is indeed attractive and appealing to voters who have to pay taxes, said Wang To-far (王塗發), chairman of the department of economics at National Chunghsing Unversity. 毢ut the question is how to stop the gap of financial deficits, especially when the government has to allocate more spending for post- earthquake reconstruction.
浠e will have to wait and see whether the government is able to come up with practical measures to back up these proposals, Wang said.
Lien also said that Taiwan would take steps to develop into an Asia Pacific 浾ssets management center and a 浽lobal logistics center. This should be done in conjunction with opening its markets and lowering tariffs to coincide with expected accession to the WTO.
Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Chi-kang (王志剛) said he is confident of fulfilling Lien's proposals.
浠e are confident of achieving the goals that the vice president has set, Wang said.
According to Wang, the ministry is confident of forging no fewer than 700 investment deals for newly developed industries, which would involve a total of NT$500 billion.
Also, the ministry would also push forward e-commerce by launching at least 100 e-business infrastructure plays within four years to forge vertical business integration among at least 20,000 companies.
Wang identified boosting newly developed industries as one key agenda for this year. The Industrial Development Bureau has set up working groups in boosting information industry, telecommunication, aviation, biotechnology, and precision machinery.
Among other key economic agendas for this year are upgrading the ailing local traditional industries to strengthen their competitiveness. The liberalization of the petroleum industry for foreign competition commencing from July 1 and privatization of electricity supply are also singled out as key economic goals this year.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS