The new Cabinet led by premier-designate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) should set up a special taskforce to work on linking Taiwan to the world to prevent Taiwan from being marginalized in the era of globalization, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday.
"Taiwan should not position itself as part of China. It's part of the world. So I hope to see Su's team concentrate its efforts on securing Taiwan's survival in the era of globalization," Lu told reporters outside CTiTV's studio.
Lu spoke to reporters after being interviewed by talk-show host Sisy Chen (陳文茜).
During the interview Chen questioned the lack of international experience in Su's team and Lu said the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) long-term promotion of Taiwanese consciousness had led to a lack of effective strategies to deal with the global China fever.
Lu said Taiwan has to keep its own identity and not deliberately fight China at a time when the Chinese market is attracting more countries.
However, Taiwan has reached a critical point where it has to find a way out wisely and the new Cabinet has no time to waste, Lu said.
"To reduce our risks, I've brought up new economic strategies to shift certain of Taiwan's firms investing in China diplomatic allies in Central America," Lu said.
"However, I'm not sure if any of the new Cabinet members have ever thought about where to position Taiwan on the globalization spectrum."
Chen insisted that most of Su's appointees lack international experience, except National Science Council chief Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), who is a health expert and a fellow of the Academia Sinica, and Vice premier-designate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), a former chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council.
She said that Taiwan's slow growth worried many local and foreign investors, who have wondered why countries such as Singapore and South Korea have performed better.
Lu said that economic concerns of foreign investors in Taiwan and Taiwanese businesspeople have ignored China's persistent animosity toward Taiwan.
Lu said new Cabinet might not end policies that welcome Chinese tourists or that allow certain kinds of non-sensitive cross-strait exchange activities. She said the government would have no choice but to strictly implement policies on intelligence-gathering, smuggling and prostitution involving Chinese.
"Don't forget -- Taiwan is the only country facing China's military threats," Lu said.
When asked about former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung's (
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor