Former Taiwan VP Suggests Reducing Taiwan's Dependence on Cross-Strait Trade

Former Vice President of Taiwan Vincent Siew recently suggested that Taiwan should reduce dependence on trade with China in light of increasing anxiety on the potential consequences of such over-dependence.

He made the statement at the R.O.C-U.S.-Japan Trilateral Security Dialogue held recently in Taiwan.

Siew said that to reduce the unease among certain people in Taiwan associated with growing economic ties with China, Taiwan should gradually decrease trade with China to generate more revenue from other markets.

He stressed that given Taiwan's position as a crucial role in Asia's supply chain, the island's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will only serve the interest of all parties of the regional free trade body, whose goal cannot be achieved without Taiwan's involvement.

The former Taiwan Vice President said that the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed in June 2010 opens up the vast Chinese market to Taiwan, but, without trade agreements with  other economic powers like the U.S. and Japan, Taiwan's closer ties with Beijing has created considerable political risk to make some people in Taiwan insecure and skeptical. This is also the cause behind Taiwan's “Sunflower Student Movement” in April that occupied the legislature to block the review of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement signed between Taiwan and China last year.

Siew feels that Taiwan faces the dilemma of developing close economic tie with China to benefit both the U.S. and Japan, yet shaking confidence in some people on the island, emphasizing that Taiwan-China relations would not further develop when such confidence fades.

So he suggests that Taiwan should decrease dependence on trade with China, which is achievable by joining regional free trade blocs like TPP.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih, Minister without Portfolio Deng Chen-chung, legislators Chiang Chi-chen and Hsiao Bi-khim, American Institute in Taiwan Director Christopher J. Marut, U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman and Japan Reps. Taku Otsuka and Keisuke Suzuki in addition to more than 20 scholars from the eight Asia-Pacific nations, including Australia, India, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea. (KL)