The government will not “directly” resume talks with China over a cross-strait trade in goods agreement until a supervisory bill clears the legislative floor, Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) said on Friday last week.
“We will continue making progress on the cross-strait trade in services and goods pacts when a draft bill of supervisory regulations on cross-strait agreements secures legislative approval,” Lee told a media gathering after he took office on Friday morning.
In other words, the ministry is not restarting formal negotiations over the trade in goods agreement with China for the time being, he said.
From now on, the government will discuss all cross-strait economy-related issues as part of a cross-ministry platform at the Executive Yuan, Lee said.
The ministry has started to analyze the feasibility of easing restrictions on Chinese investment in Taiwan’s industries and regulations on China-bound investment and is to present the results to the platform for deliberation, he said.
He said the government is not “disagreeing” with the idea of opening Taiwan’s markets, but the nation’s industries must become stronger before being exposed to global markets.
If the nation’s industries are not globally competitive, there would be limited products the government can use to negotiate reciprocal terms with other nations, he said.
In an effort to push the government’s “new southbound policy,” Lee said the ministry has reviewed a few local companies’ projects that the new policy could apply to.
Lee said the “new southbound policy” is not simply an economic policy, as the government also has to consider the interests of other nations and overseas Taiwanese businesspeople.
The ministry is to help overseas Taiwanese businesspeople communicate their needs and assist them in operations in accordance with the government’s plans, he said.
Commenting on the government’s energy policy, Lee said that the ministry would play the most important role in developing and promoting “green” energy in the nation, as the government plans to phase out nuclear power and fossil-fuel-based power plants.
Lee said the government would not immediately reduce electricity contribution from fossil-fuel power plants after nuclear power plants are retired in 2025, adding that there is time for the government to develop renewable energy generation.
Solar power would be one of the first renewable energy sources that the government plans to focus on, as many Taiwanese manufacturers already have adequate knowledge and technologies, Lee said.
Given that eight out of the world’s 10 best offshore wind farm locations are on Taiwan’s coast, the government also plans to invest in the development of offshore wind energy, Lee said.
As the government plans to increase the power contribution from renewable energy sources, it would also help to develop the nation’s green energy industry by localizing the supply chains of Taiwan’s industries, Lee said.
The government aims to expand the localization rate of offshore wind farm supply chains to 81 percent by 2020 from this year’s target of 16 percent, he said.
This would create new job opportunities, while also accelerating the development of the green energy industry in Taiwan, he added.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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