Democratic Progressive Party legislators yesterday said they sent letters to parliamentary leaders in the UK, New Zealand, Canada and Australia calling for Taiwan’s inclusion in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The lawmakers at a news conference exhibited the open letters from the Legislative Yuan’s CPTPP for Taiwan Committee showing that “Taiwan is ready to join the CPTPP.”
Committee chair Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) said that joining the CPTPP would have great economic and strategic significance.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
If Taiwan were a part of the agreement, it could keep the regional supply chain going and safeguard regional economic security in the case of another chip shortage, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The legislature would continue to engage in parliamentary outreach and work with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to persuade the 11 CPTPP founding members that Taiwan meets the criteria for membership, Chiu said.
Taiwan has an excellent opportunity to petition to join, with the chairs of the CPTPP from last year to next year being like-minded countries, MOFA Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Vivian Lien (連玉蘋) said.
If the CPTPP adopts a first-come, first-serve principle, China’s application would be reviewed first, at which point China might attempt to drag out the process, Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said.
However, if the group first reviews more prepared countries, China’s position in the line would fall drastically, leaving Taiwan and other applicants ahead, Kuo added.
Separately yesterday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) reiterated calls for Taiwan to join the CPTPP, adding that the nation is prepared to be a part of a safer and more resilient supply chain alongside Japan and other regional countries.
Tsai was speaking at the opening of an annual Taiwan-Japan economic conference organized by the East Asia Economic Association.
Tsai said her pledge at the 2015 conference to increase Taiwan-Japan collaboration had been realized with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s establishment of a plant in Kumamoto Prefecture, and Japanese semiconductor equipment manufacturers collaborating with Taiwanese counterparts.
Taiwan-Japan bilateral trade exceeded US$75 billion, up nearly 26 percent from 2016, while mutual investment has exceeded US$38.6 billion, up by 41 percent, Tsai said.
Taiwan and Japan collaboration would not only focus on semiconductor supply chains, but could also involve artificial intelligence, digital services and efforts to transition to renewable energy.
Taiwan and Japan are intertwined culturally and economically and are both proponents of democracy, she said, adding that the two were neighbors with very close ties, and she hoped that Taiwan and Japan would continue to see another half-century of friendly relations.
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