Civic groups yesterday voiced their opposition to the planned debate between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on the service trade pact signed with China. They said the debate was “useless” and urged the government to instead allow more public participation in the review of the agreement.
“This ‘debate’ is not going to do any good, when the government is not revealing much information about the agreement,” Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英), convener of the National Health Insurance Civilian Surveillance Alliance, told a press conference in Taipei.
“I can tell you that there are only two possible results of the debate: The pro-green media outlets will say that Su has won, while pro-blue media organizations will declare Ma the winner.”
Huang said there were worries that the debate between the leaders of the two major political parties would turn the trade service pact issue into a political tug-of-war, blurring issues and reducing the space for the public to participate in a review of the agreement.
Taiwan Democracy Watch chairman Hsu Wei-chun (徐偉群) agreed.
“Debate is essentially a good thing. However, since the government is not telling us every detail about the agreement, the planned debate is nothing more than just a show,” Hsu said.
“How can the debate proceed when we do not know how deep and how far the impact of the trade service pact will be and who will be affected?” he said.
While Ma, who doubles as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, and Su represent the two major political parties, “they are not qualified to represent the public, and such a serious debate cannot be just a political show for the two parties,” Hsu said.
Cross-Strait Agreement Watch convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said the service trade agreement could affect everyone in the country. For example, the agreement would allow Chinese banks to make up to 20 percent of the investors in a Taiwanese bank, he said.
“This means that, if Chinese banks want, they could find out about the financial circumstances of any individual or business,” Lai said.
Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general Son Yu-lian (孫友聯) said the agreement should not become effective until the government comes up with policies to handle any possible rise in the unemployment rate.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate