Taiwan ranks fourth in the latest Index of Economic Freedom released by the US Heritage Foundation, which foundation president Kevin Roberts delivered personally to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday while reaffirming Washington’s support for the nation’s security.
This year’s index graded 184 nations based on their economic policies and conditions from July 1, 2022, through June 30 last year, the foundation said.
Economic freedom is assessed based on 12 factors in four broad pillars — rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and open markets — each on a scale of 0 to 100.
Photo: CNA
The overall world economy was “mostly unfree,” with the global average score for economic freedom falling to 58.6 from the previous report’s 59.3, the lowest it has been since 2001.
With a score of 80, Taiwan was among only four nations scoring above 80 to be marked as “free” in the index along with Singapore, Switzerland and Ireland.
Taiwan maintained its ranking of fourth in the world and second among 39 Asia-Pacific economies from the previous report, but its score decreased by 0.7 points.
Taiwan is an “exemplary free-market democracy” and has a “strong commitment to the rule of law and openness to global commerce,” the report said.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of Taiwan’s economic growth and resilience, it said, adding that “monetary stability has been well maintained despite inflationary pressure.”
Relatively low scores were given to “labor freedom” and “financial freedom,” but the report did not provide negative comments regarding those indicators.
Roberts congratulated Taiwan on the ranking, praising the nation as “one of the shining lights of the world” when he led a delegation to meet with Tsai at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.
He also thanked Tsai for “maintaining the status quo of peace” with courage, and vowed to preserve that peace after she leaves office in May to honor her service.
Tsai is beloved by Taiwanese and the foundation, and would “remain beloved by free people across the world,” he said.
Tsai thanked the foundation for its long-term support for Taiwan-US relations, and its efforts to promote economic, trade and security cooperation between the two sides.
Expanding cooperation with the US, an important security and trade partner of Taiwan, not only serves the interests of both sides, but would also help ensure the security and stability of the global supply chain, she said.
Earlier yesterday, Roberts’ delegation met with Lai to offer its congratulations on him winning the presidential election last month.
Taiwan has friends in the foundation and across the US who understand and support the nation’s freedom and security, Roberts said, adding :“You can count on us.”
Lai solicited the foundation’s continued support for the nation as it is still facing many challenges, including direct threats from China, climate change, global digitization and global supply chain restructuring.
He pledged to continue firmly defending the cross-strait “status quo” and to contribute to peace in the international community.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS