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.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS