Following the goal set by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of Taiwan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional free-trade agreement currently being negotiated by the US and eight other countries, government officials said yesterday that the Greater Kaohsiung could be designated as a demonstration area for free trade.
“Greater Kaohsiung stands a good chance of being selected as a demonstration area for free trade,” Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) told Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) in a question-and-answer session at the legislature.
“Without a doubt, Greater Kaohsiung, where the country’s first export processing zone was established [in 1966], should become the locomotive of economic development,” Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) added.
On Thursday Ma, who is seeking re-election in January, unveiled his “golden 10-year” prospects, pledging to make conditions favorable for Taiwan’s inclusion in the TPP that the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam are negotiating.
As the TPP’s aim is to form a quality regional free-trade agreement, the government needs to designate multiple venues in the country for further market liberalization in 10 years in line with the envisaged free-trade treaty before the country can join it, Shih said.
The South Star Plan (南星計畫), the project designed to accommodate excavated soil from construction sites near Kaohsiung Harbor that spans 106 hectares, could be designated as one of the free-trade harbor areas, Wu said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
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NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
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