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Lai Administration Concerned About Small Cross-Strait Exchanges Leading to Larger Ones

 

A group of 40 mainland Chinese students and teachers, invited by the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, arrived in Taiwan. Before their departure, anonymous officials leaked their names and positions to specific media, claiming that all members were selected by Communist China and included Communist Youth League members, reserve party members, or party members. They even noted that Olympic table tennis champion Ma Long was among Communist Party members. Some pro-DPP scholars labeled the visit as propaganda and unification efforts. This visit, which initially went smoothly compared to last year's, was marred by political maneuvering before departure, which is both regrettable and worrying.

PLA to Conduct Military Exercises Around Taiwan Again, Taking Aim at Trump

 

Economic Minister's Solution Cannot Address Tariff War

 

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has made bold statements, pledging to impose a 10 percent tariff on China and 25 percent on Canada and Mexico once in office, leaving many stunned. Taiwan already has a $47.7 billion trade surplus with the United States through September this year, making it difficult to avoid high tariffs. However, the economic strategy proposed by Minister of Economic Affairs JW Kuo in response to Taiwan’s trade challenges raises concerns.

November 24:

The Kuomintang (KMT) held its National Congress, in which Chairman Eric Chu stated that the Republic of China Constitution is the backbone of the R.O.C., and that forces of Taiwan independence will never be allowed to harm or destroy the R.O.C. Speaker Han Kuo-yu of the Legislative Yuan proposed "Four Beliefs" for the KMT, asserting that the strong presence of the KMT is the greatest force ensuring peaceful cross-strait development and exchanges. 

 

November 25:

Chen Chi-yu, former chairman of the Taiyen Biotech Company and key factional figure in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was involved in a photovoltaic scandal, causing the company to lose NT$1.1 billion (about US$33.5 million). Chen went missing in early November and was wanted by the authorities. President and DPP Chairman Lai Ching-te urged Chen to face justice. After hiding for 24 days, Chen finally turned himself in but refused to explain his whereabouts during that period. He was arrested in court and detained without bail. 

 

November 25:

Taiwan procured two types of attack drones from the United States, including 658 sets of Switchblade 300s for personnel strikes and 291 sets of Altius 600Ms for anti-armor purposes. Fluctuating prices have raised questions among legislators. When the case was presented to the Legislative Yuan last year, the amount was over NT$6 billion (about US$183 million). In June this year, the U.S. Department of Defense announced the amount to be US$360.2 million. By the end of August, the United States submitted a quotation to Taiwan, reducing the amount to NT$5.5 billion (about US$168 million). The Ministry of National Defense hopes to use the extra funds to purchase more anti-armor drones from the United States, but legislators have not agreed and requested further communication from the military. 

 

November 27:

The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation invited a delegation of 40 teachers and students from seven universities in mainland China to visit Taiwan. The members included Olympic table tennis gold medalist Ma Long and shooting gold medalist Yang Qian, sparking a wave of fan enthusiasm, with passionate fans greeting them at the airport. This was Ma's first visit to Taiwan, and he expressed a bit of longing for Taiwan, saying that coming to Taiwan felt like "spring is in the air."

 

November 27:

President Lai will visit three Pacific ally nations and transit through Hawaii and Guam. According to Reuters, mainland China might use the transit as an excuse to conduct the "Joint Sword-2024C" military exercise around Taiwan before and after President Lai's return on December 6. This would be the third large-scale drill around Taiwan this year. 

 

November 28:

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada after taking office. Minister Chen Shu-tzu of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, stated that the impact on Taiwan should be evident by 2026, but the extent remains to be seen. 

Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo indicated that the impact would be greater on electronic contract manufacturers and assemblers, and the government would assist the companies in evaluating whether to shift production to the United States. The opposition criticized Minister Kuo for encouraging companies to move to the United States, which they claimed would holly out Taiwan's industry. 

 

November 28:

There is concern that President-elect Trump might demand the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to accelerate the transfer of its advanced sub-2nm process to the United States after taking office. Former TSMC Chairman Mark Liu stated that this might not be beneficial for the United States; allowing Taiwan to steadily produce the most advanced products for the United States in Taiwan would be a win-win situation. 

 

Minister Wu Cheng-wen of the National Science and Technology Council mentioned during interpellation at the Legislative Yuan that TSMC's 2nm process would be mass-produced next year, and the possible timeline for setting up a plant in the United States would be 2028. 

 

November 28:

A Ministry of Labor (MOL) employee allegedly committed suicide due to workplace bullying. Premier Cho Jung-tai ordered all ministries to investigate and confirmed that bullying incidents also occurred in the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The Executive Yuan demanded that these four ministries complete their investigations and handling within a week and provide an explanation to the public. 

 

The bullying case also led to another case, where former Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun and Hsieh Yi-jung, former northern branch director of the Workforce Development Agency, MOL, were accused of embezzling public funds. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office launched an investigation and listed Hsu and Hsieh as co-defendants, imposing travel restrictions on Hsieh.