TPPC  Taiwan Public Policy Council

 

  

            

                 台灣公共政策諮議會   

     

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                        Last updated:  07/17/2006 05:56:31 PM

 

 

MENU

 

Home

 

Organization

 

News Focus

 

Publications

 

Policy Forum

 

Announcement

 

Taiwan Status

 

The Economy

 

Contact Us

 

Favorite Links

 

Blogs

 

News Focus

 

President Chen's New Year Goals

President Chen outlined three tasks:

abolishing the National Unification Council & the Guidelines for National Unification

  drafting a new constitution and

 entering the UN
 

President Chen's New Year Message (2006): Democratic Taiwan, Thriving Onward

 

<The Kuala Lumpur Declaration of 2005>

<Pentagon's 2005 China Military Power Report>

<Joint Statement of President Chen and Chairman Soong>

<Inaugural Speech, 5-20-2004,  by President Shui-bian Chen>    

<Inaugural Speech, 5-20-2000, by President Shui-bian Chen>

<Inaugural Speech, 5-20-1996, by President Teng-hui Lee>

 

 

July 2006

June 2006

May 2006

April 2006

March 2006

February 2006

January 2006

 

December 2005

 

China to be world's 4th biggest economy after GDP revision (12/20/2005): China will leapfrog Italy, France, and Britain to be officially recognized as the world's fourth-biggest economy if it revises its 2004 gross domestic product up by 300 bln usd on Dec 20 as expected, Standard Chartered economist Stephen Green said..... Details <1>,  <2>

 

Poor Farmers Gain In Trade Talks -- Developing Nations Positioned To Benefit But Only Over Time(12/19/2005):  Farmers in developing countries, especially African cotton growers, were the biggest winners in global trade talks that ended in Hong Kong over the weekend, reports The Wall Street Journal Europe........... Details

 

Talks at W.T.O. Meeting Yield Little Progress  (12/18/2005):  Trade ministers from around the world rebuffed American requests at a conference here on Saturday as police battled rioting South Korean rice farmers outside with tear gas, smoke grenades and fire hoses. Ministers produced a draft agreement at the World Trade Organization conference that reflected some positions sought by the European Union and some favored by developing countries, while leaving many issues for future negotiations.......... Details

 

East Asia Summit Held Amid Differences on Trade Bloc  (12/14/2005):  The first-ever East Asia Summit, which convened today in Malaysia, may struggle to find a purpose, after most of its 16 members abandoned it as a forum to spearhead their proposed trade alliance.  The leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, plus Japan, South Korea and China say they alone will set the ``future direction'' for building a regional zone with fewer trade restrictions. India's Prime Minister says such a zone should include India, Australia and New Zealand. .......... Details

 

November 2005

 

President Discusses Freedom and Democracy in Kyoto, Japan (11/16/2005):  Taiwan is another society that has moved from repression to democracy as it liberalized its economy. Like South Korea, the people of Taiwan for years lived under a restrictive political state that gradually opened up its economy. And like South Korea, the opening to world markets transformed the island into one of the world's most important trading partners. And like South Korea, economic liberalization in Taiwan helped fuel its desire for individual political freedom -- because men and women who are allowed to control their own wealth will eventually insist on controlling their own lives and their own future.

Like South Korea, modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society. Our one China policy remains unchanged. It is based on three communiqu s, the Taiwan Relations Act, and our belief that there should be no unilateral attempts to change the status by either side -- the status quo by either side. The United States will continue to stress the need for dialogue between China and Taiwan that leads to a peaceful resolution of their differences.................. Details from White House

 

October 2005

 

US to shift 7,000 Marines from Japan's Okinawa (10/29/2005):  The base realignment unveiled by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshinori Ohno, also boosts bilateral military cooperation in areas ranging from disaster relief to ballistic missile defense to counter-proliferation. Japan's embrace of a sweeping plan to build up joint defenses with the United States signals Tokyo's acceptance of a growing military responsibility in the world and concern about the ambitions of North Korea and China, analysts said......... Details

 

INTERVIEW - Taiwan president sees no rush for China talks (10/7/2005): Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian declared on Friday he would not be rushed into talks with China, saying it was vital to preserve the island's sovereign status. Whereas China's leaders have said they were striving for talks to start even if they had delays during the negotiations, "I want to revise that statement," Chen said in an interview. "I want to strive for delays while not fearing talks." ...... Details <1>, <2>

 

September 2005

 

IMF: Higher Investment is Key to Rebalancing Global Trade (9/14/2005): An IMF economic model estimates that if the U.S. were to increase national savings by 1% of GDP, the current account deficit - now topping 6% of GDP - would fall by 0.5% of GDP. A 0.5% increase in output in both Europe and Japan would lower the U.S. current account deficit by 1.0% of GDP.  An investment increase of 5% of GDP in East Asia would cut the U.S. current account deficit by 0.8% of GDP. A 5% of GDP increase in investment in oil-producing countries would also cut the deficit by 0.8% of GDP, according to the IMF.  "Benefits would be magnified and risks minimized by joint action on the part of all major actors in the global economy," the IMF said...... Details

 

IMF urges China currency reform (9/12/2005): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that China's economy needs more currency flexibility for strong growth.....Details  

 

August 2005

 

China, Russia wrap up military exercise (8/26/2005): Thousands of Chinese and Russian troops wrapped up their historic first joint military exercises Thursday with a mock invasion by paratroopers on China's east coast. 

The eight-day exercises with 7,000 Chinese troops and 1,800 Russians underscored growing military ties between the former Cold War enemies, motivated by their common unease with U.S. dominance in world affairs...... Details

 

Chinese war games leave US unfazed (8/17/2005): The Bush administration has described a planned joint Chinese-Russian military exercise in the Yellow Sea north of Taiwan as one that could advance the "mutual goal of regional stability" in East Asia, despite some reports that paint the exercise as being eerily similar to a rehearsal for a joint invasion of Taiwan..........  Details

 

Chen updates cross-strait 'guideines' (8/7/2005): Announcing the "one principle, three insistences and five oppositions" as the government's new guidelines for cross-strait policy, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said the government preferred not to open direct links if they could not be managed properly........  Details

 

Chen expounds 'four-phases of ROC' theory (8/3/2005): President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) unveiled a new theory on Tuesday on what he called the "four stages of the Republic of China", saying that it was important to give future generations a clear idea of national identity and Taiwan's sovereignty.........  Details

 

July 2005

 

House narrowly approves CAFTA (7/28/2005): After an all-day, full-court press by the White House, the House early Thursday narrowly approved the controversial Central America Free Trade Agreement, a pact supporters say will help strengthen fledgling democracies. .......  Details

 

China's Currency Move (7/22/2005): The People's Bank of China said the yuan will trade up or down 1.5 pct on either side of a mid-point against non-US dollar currencies in the interbank market. The over-the-counter rate for non-cash transactions has been set at 0.2 pct either side of the mid-point. .......  Details <1>, <2>, <3>, <4>

 

Pentagon: China's Military Strengthening (7/20/2005): China is building up its military for the long-term goal of projecting its power well beyond Taiwan, the self-governing island that draws most of the mainland's attention today, a Pentagon report says...... Details             

 

 Chinese general warns U.S. over Taiwan (7/15/2005): The United States on Friday criticized as "irresponsible" a reported warning by a Chinese general that China is ready to use nuclear weapons against the United States if Washington attacks his country over Taiwan.......  Details <1>, <2>, <3>

 

 China-Russia Statement on new world order (7/2/2005): China and Russia here Friday issued a joint statement on a new world order in the 21st century, setting forth their common stand on major international issues, such as UN reforms, globalization, North-South cooperation, and world economy and trade.  The statement was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao after their talks.  The joint statement said the two countries are determined to strengthen their strategic coordination in international affairs and promote peace, stability and prosperity of the world........  Details <1>, <2>, <3>

 

June 2005

 

Yen reform will take time: Wen (6/27/2005):  China needed more time before it could scrap the yuan's decade-old peg to the US dollar and adopt a more market-based exchange rate system, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday. .......  Details <1>, <2>

 

Nuclear industry lays foundation of comeback (6/22/2005):  The U.S. has not started a reactor project for 29 years, but President Bush is calling for a new era of nuclear power, saying it would reduce air pollution and dependence on foreign energy.......  Details

 

Taiwan ship joins island dispute (6/21/2005):  A Taiwanese warship visited disputed fishing grounds on Tuesday, after Taiwanese fishermen complained of harassment by Japanese patrol boats.......  Details

 

Taiwan's National Assembly Passes Constitutional Amendments (6/07/2005):  Taiwan's National Assembly voted Tuesday to halve the number of lawmakers in the 225-seat Parliament, institute a single constituency election system and put future constitutional amendments in the hands of Taiwanese voters..........  Details

 

May 2005

 

Chen calls on US to sign trade accord (5/31/2005): The president met with US Senator John Rockefeller, telling him that it was vital to regional security for the US to create an FTA with Taiwan.......  Details

 

 

EU opposes return to quotas on China textiles (5/21/2005): Restoring import quotas that were abolished at the start of the year isn't the solution to the European Union's efforts to quell surging textile exports from China, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said......  Details

 

Beijing raises export taxes on textiles to head off import curbs (5/21/2005): China has sharply raised taxes on its own textile exports in the hope of heading off import curbs by the US and European Union amid a deepening global trade dispute.  Exporters of 74 categories of textiles in China - including T-shirts, underwear and trousers - will face new duties on every item they ship overseas, starting on June 1.  Tariffs on most items will rise to Rmb 1 (7p) and sometimes reach Rmb 4, the ministry of finance said on its website.  This compares to the Rmb 0.2-Rmb 0.3 tax imposed on 148 categories in January ......... Details

 

Taiwan wins back Nauru as ally (5/14/2005): President TAIWAN scored a modest victory in its diplomatic tug of war with rival China today, winning back the tiny South Pacific island nation of Nauru as an ally three years after it cut ties with Taipei and switched to Beijing.....  Details

 

April 2005

 

Chen say yes to FTA, no to CEPA(4/30/2005): President Chen Shui-bian yesterday rejected the idea of signing a Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with China, saying it would be "unacceptable" to sign such an agreement as it would downgrade the nation's status to that of Hong Kong and Macau.......  Details

 

Koizumi, Hu hold talks (4/24/2005): The leaders of Japan and China met Saturday in an effort to end a dispute over Japan's wartime aggression that has badly damaged relations between the two Asian powers and alarmed their neighbors.....  Details

 

Japan: China is 'scary country' (4/12/2005): China's premier has told Japan to "face up to history," while a top Japanese official has called China "scary" as a war of words simmers following massive protests in the weekend. 

----------  Details

 

March 2005

 

Rice Urges Beijing to reduce tensions (3/22/2005): Visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Beijing at a news conference yesterday to take steps to cool tensions that have flared across the Taiwan Strait since the passage of the "Anti-Secession" Law, describing the law as an unwelcome piece of legislation.  Noting that cross-strait issues should be resolved by the two sides in a peaceful manner, Rice said that any unilateral moves that increase tensions are not helpful and that the Anti-Secession Law is not helpful in reducing cross-strait tensions.

----------  Details

 

Japan to halt new loans to China by 08 games (3/18/2005): Tokyo and Beijing have reached a basic agreement that Japan will stop providing new yen loans to China by the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Thursday. .............. Details

 

President Chen issues a Solemn six-point statement regarding China's "Anti-Session Law" (3/17/2005):  Full Text

 

China's Congress passes Taiwan Bill (3/14/2005): China's top legislative body has approved a resolution called "Anti-Session Law" that authorizes Beijing to use military force to prevent Taiwan from declaring its independence.  .........  <CNN> < Full Text: English; Hanji> 

 

Draft of China's "Anti-Session Law" (3/8/2005):  Full Text (Hanji)

 

Waking up to China's threats (3/4/2005): China's challenges to Japan in 2004 included repeated intrusions of Chinese ships into Japan's exclusive economic zone, natural gas drilling in waters claimed by Japan, a nuclear submarine intrusion into Japanese territorial waters in November, efforts to have a Japanese island south of Tokyo declared a rock to deprive Japan of economic rights to thousands of square kilometers, aggressive diplomatic offensive toward Southeast Asian countries to reduce Japanese influence, and several anti-Japanese demonstrations (and near riots), including that at the Asian cup soccer final in Beijing last summer. ........ Details

 

February 2005

 

 

Joint Statement of the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee

 

Issued on Feb. 19, 2005,   <Joint Statement>

 

 Remarks from: US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice

                          US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

                                   Japan's Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura

                                                 Japan's Defense Minister Yoshinori Ono  ----------- Details

 

 

Japan, U.S. to declare Taiwan a mutual security concern (2/17/2005):  Japan and the United States on Sunday will declare in a joint agreement that the Taiwan Strait is a "common strategic objective," The Washington Post said citing a draft of the document it obtained.  The agreement will be announced after US Secretaries of State, Condoleezza Rice, and of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld meet their Japanese counterparts in Washington on Saturday, the daily said in its article dated in Tokyo. ----------- Details <1> <2> <3>

 

China bucks global foreign investment trend (2/15/2005): Annual global foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped from US$1,388 billion to $560 billion between 2000 and 2003. But over the same period, FDI in China grew steadily from $40 billion in 2000 to $53 billion in 2003. Last year, the figure topped $60 billion. Why the steady spurt of FDI in China? A recent report published by the Chinese Academy of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think-tank for the Ministry of Commerce, titled the "2005 Report of Transnational Corporations in China", underlines the reasons and lays down strategies for the future. --------------- Details

 

North Korea Announces It Has Nuclear Arms (2/10/2005): North Korean leaders, for the first time today, publicly admitted possession of nuclear arms as a deterrent against the U.S. and abruptly pulled out of international talks on disarmament. The surprising announcement, which also could be a negotiating ploy, came only days after President Bush in his State of the Union address expressed a softer tone toward North Korea. North Korea has refused to rejoin the talks, which involved the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China. They began in 2003 after the North agreed to discuss ending its weapons program in return for economic help and security assurances.-------------- Details

 

Beijing's military buildup races ahead (2/7/2005): China is modernizing its military forces faster than anyone expected only a few years ago, escalating the potential danger to the island of Taiwan, to American forces and bases in Asia, and to the overall balance of power in the region.

 

"China adheres to the military strategy of active defense and works to speed up the revolution of military affairs with Chinese characteristics," says the white paper Beijing issued in December. It points to "leapfrog development" in high-tech weapons for its missile units, navy and air force. 

 

Where many American and Asian analysts said before that China would be able to mount a credible threat between 2010 and 2015, now they are saying it will come earlier, perhaps by 2006 and certainly by 2012.

                                                                                                                                            --------------Details

 

U.S. President George Bush's State of the Union Speech (2/2/2005):  On Part 5 War on Terror of the speech, President Bush said, the U.S. will help the Palestinian people build an independent and democratic state: 

" The beginnings of reform and democracy in the Palestinian territories are now showing the power of freedom to break old patterns of violence and failure. Tomorrow morning, Secretary of State Rice departs on a trip that will take her to Israel and the West Bank for meetings with Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas. She will discuss with them how we and our friends can help the Palestinian people end terror and build the institutions of a peaceful, independent democratic state. To promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms. The goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace is within reach -- and America will help them achieve that goal."

To read the Transcript of President Bush's State of the Union Speech, click ----- PDF

 

Taiwan Semiconductor Unsettling (2-1-2005): According to a Bloomberg report, a witness at one of Semiconductor Manufacturing's facilities said that more than 90% of its 180-nanometer process for creating chips was copied from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Read that again. Yeah, I really did say 90%. (Nanometer refers to the space between transistors on a chip. A smaller space allows more chips to be made during production.).  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is the world's largest OEM maker of Chips. ----------  Details

 

January 2005

 

Taiwan severed diplomatic relations with Grenada (1/28/05):  Taiwan severed diplomatic relations with Grenada after receiving formal notification from the Caribbean state that it had opened official ties with China, the foreign ministry said. This latest setback means Taiwan is now recognized by just 25 countries, mostly small states in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific. ------ Details

 

U.S. President George Bush's Inaugural Speech (1/20/05) ------ Full Text

 

Taiwan, Japan, and FTA (1/23/05:  Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh called on Japan on Saturday (1/22/05) to strike a bilateral free trade agreement, saying such a pact will be "very beneficial to Japan."  In Asia, China, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are accelerating efforts to strike FTAs, leaving Taiwan lagging behind. Japan has taken a cautious stance on launching FTA talks with Taiwan for fear it may anger Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province. (Kyodo News)

 

European Arms to China Boom despite Ban (1/21/05):  "European leaders faced embarrassment on Wednesday when figures showed a doubling in approvals of arms sales to China, despite an embargo imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.  Amnesty International  said it would closely monitor the conduct of Britain, France and Italy, Europe's largest arms exporters. ------- Details.

 

Anti-Secession Law (1/21/05): "If their National People's Congress in March really passes an 'anti-secession law', it could force the Taiwanese people to take to the streets or even launch an 'anti-annexation law', or it could force the government to hold a referendum against it," President Chen said, according to an interview transcript released by the Presidential Office yesterday (1-20-05). The plebiscite could be held together with an upcoming election on May 26, he said. ------ Details.

 

E-mail the Webmaster with questions or comments about the TPPC web site.