Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday brushed aside criticism that the Cabinet was deceiving itself and polarizing society with its response to the 31 incentives for Taiwanese unveiled last month by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).
People First Party Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) during a question-and-answer session with Lai at the legislature criticized the Cabinet’s response — which addressed four aspects and proposed eight policies, dubbed the “Strengthen Taiwan Policies” — as self-deception, the Cabinet “burying its head in the sand” and polarizing the public.
The Cabinet used its response to terrorize the public, deterring people from working in China, but it would only serve to polarize society, making some people more determined to work there, she said.
The response is based on the assumption that China would eventually “collapse,” which pervades Lai’s speech, she said.
Citing a survey conducted by a polling company, Chen said that 40.8 percent of Taiwanese aged between 18 and 29 think the 31 measures were a “friendly gesture” by China, while 66.7 percent said they would consider working in China.
The survey is a warning to Lai’s Cabinet, as it suggests even young people who support Taiwanese independence could not resist China’s measures, she said.
Chen asked Lai if Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) were presented with the alternatives of keeping all of his businesses in Taiwan or moving them to China, which one he thought Gou would choose.
“He also chose the US,” Lai said. “This is not a yes-or-no question. There are more than two options. I suggest looking [at this issue] from a different angle. There is no need to glorify China to such an extent and belittle Taiwan.”
Chen’s criticism of the Cabinet’s response was previously directed at the Democratic Progressive Party, and Chen was reading from her notes, the premier said.
“The government’s response is not based on the hope that China will collapse, but on bolstering Taiwan. Taiwan’s worth is not defined by China’s collapse,” Lai said, adding that Chen should refine her criticism by singling out the points that could be improved.
Citing media reports, Chen had earlier asked Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) whether he acted as a “secret emissary” for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) when he met with high-ranking officials at Chinese agencies in charge of Taiwan affairs in December last year before he was appointed to his post last month.
Chen Ming-tong and Chinese officials agreed that the meetings would be off-the-record, and Beijing is irritated that the information has leaked, Chen Yi-chieh said.
“It was an academic exchange. Minister Chen cannot answer a question for professor Chen,” said Chen Ming-tong, who was a professor at National Taiwan University when the alleged meetings took place.
He repeated the answer when asked whether he had briefed Tsai after the meetings as reported by the media.
Quoting the minister, who as an academic said that “all kinds of options are possible, except China proposing to unify [with] Taiwan,” Chen Yi-chieh asked Chen Ming-tong whether his comment still rings true, prompting a visibly annoyed Chen Ming-tong to raise his voice and repeat his answer for a second time.
Asked whether he would try to arrange a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, newly inaugurated TAO Minister Liu Jieyi (劉結一), Chen Ming-tong said he would strive to create opportunities.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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