While the majority of Taiwanese support economic liberalization as an essential development, most are still doubtful about deepening economic interaction with China, a poll conducted by the Grassroots Influence Foundation showed.
According to the results released by the foundation yesterday, as many as 75.89 percent of respondents support further economic liberalization and globalization, while 51.22 percent said that they understand the proposed cross-strait service trade agreement to some extent.
However, when asked about their attitudes on the cross-strait service trade agreement, as many as 51.33 percent of those who support economic liberalization said they are opposed to the pact, while 87.5 percent of those opposing economic liberalization were against it.
Meanwhile, about 53 percent of those who said they understand the service trade agreement are opposed to it.
“Looking at the figures, the majority of people believe that, in the age of globalization, Taiwan must open up economically. However, the public is also worried about our increasing economic dependence on China,” Kao Charng (高長), chairman of National Dong Hwa University’s Department of Public Administration, who has also served as Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister, told a press conference in Taipei.
“Inking the cross-strait service trade agreement means further liberalization and deepening of cross-strait economic exchanges, and it is making the public worried about the risks of increasing dependence on China,” Kao said.
This is an issue that the government needs to deal with carefully when developing cross-strait relations, he added.
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research president Hung Te-sheng (洪德生) agreed with Kao.
“Public resentment only happens when we sign trade agreements with China; there have never been any major problems when we sign agreements with other countries,” Hung said. “I would recommend that the government thinks about this issue.”
He said that Taiwanese businesses are very competitive, “but it will not bring more benefits if we do not open up, sell our products to the world and globalize.”
The poll was conducted between May 12 and June 5 with 1,099 valid samples of randomly selected people aged 20 and above.
EMBRACE CHANGE: Jensen Huang told NTU graduates that instead of worrying about AI itself, they should worry that people with expertise in AI would be taking their jobs Artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining the computer industry, and Taiwanese companies could play a major role in replacing the world’s traditional computers as they are the foundation of the industry, Nvidia Corp cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said in Taipei yesterday. Huang made the remarks while giving the keynote speech at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) commencement ceremony. AI has created immense opportunities, and versatile companies can be expected to take advantage and boost their position, while less flexible firms would perish, he said. “In every way, this is a rebirth of the computer industry and a golden opportunity for the companies of
‘ARCHAIC’: An interpretation of a law that considered Chinese as Taiwanese nationals was scrapped after the death of a Chinese in Kaohsiung led to state reparations An administrative mandate to consider Chinese as Taiwanese citizens was outdated, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, a day after the Executive Yuan ordered that agencies disregard the 30-year-old interpretation. Chen made the remarks at an event held by the Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei following changes to the administrative mandate concerning 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). The previous interpretation of the law was archaic and contrary to the workings of laws and regulations, he said, adding that the order was made to avoid unnecessary problems created by the mandate. The Mainland
NOT BUYING IT: One of the goals of Beijing’s Cross-Strait Media People Summit was to draw mainstream media executives to discuss the ‘one country, two systems’ formula Taiwanese news media insist on press freedom and professionalism, and would never become a tool of China’s “united front” campaign, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, responding to media queries about the lack of Taiwanese media executives at the Cross-Strait Media People Summit in Beijing. Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) was reportedly furious that no Taiwanese media representatives attended a scheduled meeting with him on Thursday last week. “Beijing should take Taiwan’s determination to pursue freedom and democracy seriously. We also hope that it will not use vicious means to interfere with Taiwan’s development into a
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The legislative amendments aim to protect the rights of families to reunify, and to attract skilled professionals to stay and work in Taiwan Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法). The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay. They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest
RSS