The Economic Democracy Union (EDU) yesterday proposed several measures to safeguard Taiwan’s economy, including preventing a Chinese blockade of Taiwan.
Aside from calling for working with the US to prevent a blockade in the Taiwan Strait, it also proposed collaborations with Washington on critical security infrastructure, restricting technology exports to China and joint reviews of investments, as well as a motion to ban Hon Hai Precision Industry Co from investing in Chinese company Tsinghua Unigroup, EDU researcher Ou Hsu-shao (歐栩韶) said.
These measures would prevent Taiwan from becoming a loophole for China to access advanced technologies, the EDU said.
Taiwan and the US should work together to conduct wargame scenarios on how Washington would assist Taipei in storing and obtaining materials necessary to produce semiconductors, guarantee a source of natural gas to secure power supply and provide basic material needs, the EDU said.
These are necessary, especially in light of China’s unprecedented military drills following the visit of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi early last month, which the EDU said was an attempt by Beijing to enforce an aerial and naval blockade on Taiwan, it said.
The US should also work with Taiwan in developing infrastructure, especially in Taiwan’s science parks, to prevent China from learning what goes on in the parks via Chinese-made surveillance cameras, the EDU said.
Media reports early this month said that Hsinchu Science Park had purchased China-made surveillance cameras, while 16 other cameras that appeared to be made entirely in Taiwan, contained Chinese components.
The reports said the cameras were installed on the main road of the science park.
EDU researcher Hsu Kuan-tse (許冠澤) said Taiwan should consider passing legislation similar to the US’ Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act to prevent Taiwan from becoming a technological loophole for China.
Hsu also called on Taiwan to work with the US on joint reviews for foreign investments to bar all Chinese-sourced investments from entering Taiwan, adding that Hon Hai’s investment in Tsinghua Unigroup should be banned.
The Investment Commission must be reformed and its ranks expanded to include experts in national security, prosecution, technology and combating money laundering, EDU convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said.
The two executive secretaries of the commission should be headed by officials from the National Security Bureau and the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau, he said.
The commission should have on-site prosecutors, as per the Financial Supervisory Commission, allowing the Investment Commission to launch investigations promptly should they discover criminal activity in the line of duty, Lai said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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