Professional Documents
Culture Documents
JUNE 2013
peace in the Taiwan Strait is for China to abandon its military threat against Taiwan. The Taiwanese people strongest desire is to have peace, and I hope to convey this message to US government ofcials and to representatives of both houses of Congress, said Chair Su. Later that evening, Chair Su attended a fundraising event in Alhambra, which was organized by DPP supporters in California. Present at the event were DPP Foreign Policy Advisors Maysing Yang, Wu Li-Pei and Antonio Chiang. Rep. Ed Royce also took the time to attend the fundraiser. Chair Su thanked the supporters for giving their time and money to organize this event. He said that through their support, the DPP has been able open a mission in the U.S. He also updated the Taiwanese community in California regarding the recent activities of the DPP in Taiwan, such as promoting a nuclear free environment. Following Los Angeles, Chair Su visited overseas supporters from the Taiwanese communities of New York and Houston.
Washington, D.C. Chair Su and the rest of the delegation arrived in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night of June 11, received by Taiwan overseas supporters. The stay in D.C. was the longest of the entire trip in order to visit relevant thinktanks, host the opening of the DPPs representative ofce in D.C., and to deliver remarks at a joint-even hosted by the Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS). Washington, D.C. served as a signicant stop as Chair Su said that the U.S. is Taiwans most important partner, and he hoped to take the opportunity to let the political circle in the U.S. understand current affairs in Taiwan. At the U.S. Capitol on the afternoon of June 12, Chair Su attended a reception hosted by members of the U.S. Congress, where 22 representatives and senators attended, including U.S. House of Representatives Ed Royce, Steve Chabot and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. This is an important and a very moving day for me, Chair Su said. This is because I am standing here in front of more than 20 members of Congress from both the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as from different political parties. We have all discussed matters that we care about, which are democracy, human rights and
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freedom. The following day on June 13, Chair Su served as main speaker at a joint event hosted at the Brookings Institution. His speech, titled A New Partnership for a New Age: Strengthening U.S.-Taiwan Relations, was followed by a Q&A afterwards (full text of the speech and Q&A in separate article). On June 15, Chair Su hosted the opening of the DPPs representative ofce in Washington, D.C. (see separate article), and departing D.C. on the 16th, Chair Su made a nal leg of the Americas visit by speaking to overseas supporters in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. Upon returning to Taiwan on June 18, DPP Representative to Washington, D.C. Dr. Joseph Wu gave a report regarding the outcome of this times visit. He said the trip can be divided into three categories. First, meeting with ofcials from the U.S. administration; second, meeting with the U.S. Congress and third, meeting with the think
On the aspect of US Administration ofcials, Dr. Wu said that they were able to meet with people they hoped to meet and the discussion was very fruitful. At the U.S. Congress, besides the hosting of a reception, they met with the chair and other members of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Subcommittee on Asian Affairs. Furthermore, Dr. Wu said that Chair Sus speech at the Brookings Institution through the joint organization of Brookings and CSIS was quite exceptional due to the fact that Chair Su delivered the speech entirely in English. Furthermore, Dr. Wu reported that AIT ofcials were present at the opening of the DPP Mission in Washington, D.C. He said this represents that the DPPs relationship with the U.S. is improving and becoming friendlier. Dr. Wu lastly said that he was deeply moved by the generosity shown by the Taiwanese community in all the cities visited by Chair Su. The supporters not only made great efforts, but also gave nancial contributions to the goal of opening and maintaining the DPPs representative ofce in Washington, D.C.
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A New Partnership for a New Age: Strengthen U.S.-Taiwan Relations Chair Su Tseng-changs Remarks at Brookings Institution
Thank you very much, Chris, for your kind introduction. And thank you very much, Richard, for inviting me to speak here. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! I would like to thank both Brookings and CSIS for hosting this event. I am very glad to have this chance to engage in a conversation with you. My American Experience As my flight was approaching Reagan National Airport, I saw the Washington Monument covered for repair work. What came to my mind then was that back in 1983, thanks to the late Ambassador Jim Lilly, the United States invited me to visit Washington. That was my first visit, and I was moved by the history behind the Monument and the memorials. With more than 200 year history, US democracy has survived the wars and other challenges. But just as the Washington Monument will stand tall and firm again, U.S. democracy grew stronger after each and every major event. Actually, this is how I look at Taiwan democracy, too. Taiwan Democracy I come from Pin-tung, the southern tip of Taiwan. I went to law school and passed the national bar exam to become a lawyer. I could have had a good life but in 1979, when the Kaohsiung Incident took place and democracy advocates were imprisoned by the KMT regime, I decided to take another route by serving as the defense lawyer for those political prisoners. In 1986, with martial law still in effect, I and 17 other members founded the first opposition party in Taiwanthe Demo-
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cratic Progressive Partyto push for Taiwans democratization as the only path to end political persecution. Over the last 26 years, the DPP fought hard against the KMT's one-party rule. We successfully pushed for general elections for the parliament and the president, and eventually we became the ruling party in 2000. During the process, I went local first and was elected mayor of Pin-tung County. I next went north, and was elected mayor of Taipei County, now called Xinbei City. I then went national, to serve as Premier. In the mean time, I also went from being a founding member of the DPP to twice becoming the chairman. While our American friends are used to the democratic way of life, even take democracy for granted, many in Taiwan, including myself, risked their lives, and a good life, to slowly open the door for democracy. Thanks to the help of our American friends, democracy became a reality. I consider myself fortunate, and feel very proud, not only to witness but also to play a role in the historical process. I value what we have in Taiwan now, and I will do whatever it takes to defend our democracy. Today I would like to explain to you how the DPP looks at some important issues, including how to deepen Taiwans democracy, how to proceed with managing cross-strait relations, and how to strengthen our relations with the U.S. Here I would like to refer to three Rs as my core concepts: responsibility, reconciliation, and re-balance. Responsibilitybeyond just an opposition Since I became the DPP Chairman a year ago, I have tried hard to make the DPP more than just an opposition party, but rather a responsible force that proposes alternative policies and strives to outperform the governing party. Last year when Taiwans economy was at a low point, the DPP proposed a policy package to stimulate Taiwans economy. At the beginning of this year, the DPP was on the frontline again leading the discussion of the reform of our near-bankrupt pension systems. We also stood side by side with professors and students in the difficult campaign to prevent media monopoly and to preserve Taiwans media freedom. And I am glad to tell you that we have made it. The DPP is now leading a national campaign to halt the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. We have more policy proposals in the pipeline covering all aspects of public policy. My objective in all of this is to lead the DPP to victory in the lo-
JUNE 2013 cal elections at the end of next year, and to pave the way for a DPP comeback in 2016. I am sure the people of Taiwan, and the international community, will welcome a more capable and more responsible DPP. I was on the Capitol Hill yesterday meeting my friend Ed Royce, Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee. We recounted the unique experience of riding Taiwan's high-speed railway train with five other visiting congressmen. Chairman Royce told me he would never forget the experience of a dialogue taking place at 185 miles per hour. The construction of the highspeed railway system was started by the DPP Administration and completed when I was serving as Premier. We showed our ability to govern at the national level and our local leaders regularly receive the highest marks throughout the country. When the people of Taiwan compare us to the alternatives, I'm sure they will see us as the best choice. China policy and Taiwan consensus Friends here are anxious to learn how the DPP plans to manage Taiwans relations with China. Past history has left its imprint and the DPP has to work hard to regain the confidence of our international friends. As the DPP Chairman, I cannot shy away from this responsibility. In this
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regard, I adhere to the principle of reconciliation to lead up to the normalization of cross-strait relations. Not long ago, Richard sent me a copy of his recent book Uncharted Strait. There is one argument in the book with which I cannot agree more: the U.S. should not abandon Taiwan, but needs to strike a balance in dealing with Taiwan and China. In addition, we in Taiwan also see, as Richard wrote in his book, that after five years, the momentum of cross-strait cooperation will begin to decelerate and most likely stall. This would require both Taiwan and the U.S. to be more realistic in looking at crossstrait relations. What we have learned from the political transitions taking place last year in the Asia Pacific region is that Taiwan and the DPP need to take into consideration regional strategic dynamics. Taiwan should not confine its political focus to elections and domestic politics. I have always been pragmatic and adhere to the principles. My track record as Premier speaks for itself. In 2006 to 2007, expanded charter flights and tourism were both negotiated in Macau. What was agreed upon in 2008 was actually based on those negotiations under the DPP government. Last year when I ran for the chairmanship, I made a pledge to establish a China Affairs Committee. After five months of consultation and preparation, the first committee meeting took place on May 9, and Taiwans China Agenda was proposed. We will design Taiwans China policy with strategic depth. We will also build it comprehensively by dealing with political, security, social, and economic aspects. In the past, our discussion and policies dealing with China have often been influenced by the pressure of highly competitive elections. The result was that many in and out of Taiwan do not really understand us. Even though our policy principles are sound and in line with Taiwans majority, there seems to be a gap in perception. I know this is what we need to overcome if the DPP is to make a come-back. Here I would like to highlight the DPPs core value on China policy: Taiwan is a sovereign country, with its national title the Republic of China. This is the status quo of the Taiwan Strait; any change to it must be approved by the people of Taiwan through democratic means such as referendum. This is what we call the principle of democratic procedure. This principle is engraved in our 1999 Resolution Regarding Taiwans Future. It is also what I called the Taiwan consensus three years ago.
JUNE 2013 On the other hand, Taiwan should engage a rising China with selfconfidence. Taiwan should not only pursue interaction and dialogue with the Chinese government but also the Chinese people. In fact, many DPP members have engaged in various forms of interaction with China for some time. It also seems to me that China now is more interested in understanding Taiwan by interacting with the DPP. More interaction means more mutual understanding and less distrust. This is important so that Beijing not misjudge and mismanage its relations with Taiwan, particularly when the DPP comes back to power. This is the first step in our strategic design on China policy. Once our party reaches conclusions on our basic positions, strategies and policies in the committee, we would like to go one step further by formulating Taiwans domestic consensus. This will become the basis for normalizing relations with Beijing. There is no such thing as a magic formula that can resolve all cross-strait differences. Now the differences between Taiwan and China are too wide in the areas of political development and military balance. Improvement of relations should come from a step by step, hard effort. They cannot be captured in a four-character formula. The process requires us to deliberate at the intra-party, domestic, and cross-strait levels.
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US-Taiwan relations needs a rebalance Taiwanese, and certainly the DPP, have always considered Taiwans relations with the U.S. as the countrys most important relationship. No matter what has happened in the past, my party needs to look and move forward. It is based on this belief that I decided to re-establish our mission in DC to strengthen relations with the U.S. The U.S. is Taiwans most important democratic partner, and also our security and economic partner. I was on the Capitol Hill yesterday meeting with Senate and House leaders. I expressed the heartfelt appreciation by the DPP, and all people in Taiwan indeed, for the Taiwan Relations Act. Democracy and security do not fall from heaven. They come with a cost. In the past few years, the cross-strait military imbalance has become more serious, but Taiwans investment in defense is growing smaller. It is time for us to demonstrate that we are serious about our own defense. I would like to urge you to look at my track record again when I was serving as Taiwans Premier. Despite all difficulties, the defense budget reached 2.7% of GDP in 2007, and 3% in 2008. In this trip to the U.S., I brought with me the newest blue-books on defense to show our American friends that, even though we are in opposition now, the DPP is serious, and I am serious, about Taiwans defense. I guarantee you: the future DPP government will be fully committed to Taiwans self-defense. For sure, we ask not what the U.S. can do for Taiwan, but ask what Taiwan can do to earn the U.S. support. On trade policy, the DPP supports an open economy and free trade. The DPP worries about Taiwans over-concentration on China, and supports government efforts to negotiate free trade deals with other countries. The DPP also supports President Obamas pivot, for it is an important pillar to peace and prosperity in the Asia Pacific region. For Taiwans own strategic and economic interest, Taiwan should integrate itself in this rebalancing effort, pursuing a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S., and actively seeking to join the TransPacific Partnership. The FTAs and TPP are paths for Taiwan to survive and prosper economically. The DPP will continue to monitor the government to ensure that it engages in structural reform, brings technology into industries, and helps business network internationally. Most importantly, we will urge the government to appropriate the budget necessary to help our industries in their needed transformation.
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With that, I would like to call upon our American friends to rebalance relations with Taiwan while engaging China, and to help Taiwan in the areas of security enhancement and trade relations. Conclusion Ladies and Gentlemen, the DPP was twice elected as the ruling party by the Taiwanese people. The DPP will work harder than ever to win the support from the public and the trust from the international community. Responsibility, reconciliation and rebalance are my guiding principles. The DPP has been and will be a responsible party offering clear policies for the people of Taiwan. The DPP is committed to domestic reconciliation and cross-strait normalization. The DPP is committed to being an integral partner in this effort, a responsible player offering Taiwan's rich talents to the goal of a democratic, prosperous Asia. Thank you very much. For the full video of the speech, please visit: http://youtu.be/GIQhAnE2okg
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...Q&A
democracies, which would include U.S. allies like Japan and the Philippines, and stressing the U.S.-Taiwan defense partnership, which would include according to the DPPs paper, accelerating arms acquisitions. So my question is, is it the DPPs policy that Taiwans defense is directed against only China, and the U.S. sole weapons systems such as ghters, destroyers and frigates should be used for only deterrence and self-defense, only against China. Chair Sus Answer: Taiwan denitely needs to reinforce its self-defense capability. Every country does so. The idea is to safeguard Taiwans sovereignty and peoples security and the rights for Taiwanese people to pursue for their happiness. So these are the core values that we have to safeguard. Maintaining a defense budget is hard for any government. President Ma pledged before that his government will maintain 3% of the annual defense budget from the GDP. Right now he has only reached the goal of 2.1%. I understand why because there are a lot of challenges, but when the DPP was in power, we were able to at least live up to that goal. Taiwan needs to spend its budget on self-defense. The goal, we are not aiming at China for doing so. However, if China continues its
military threat against Taiwan, Taiwan needs to maintain a minimum and fundamental selfdefense capability. Even if Taiwan cannot afford to win a war from China, at least we have to demonstrate the determination that if the Chinese wanted to take any kind of military actions on Taiwan, it would have to pay a huge price. So, determination is the key to maintaining a minimum defense budget. It is not that the DPP advocates the increase of the defense budget all because of China, but the idea is to make sure that Taiwan gets to survive by itself and also to make sure that peace and security exists in this region. I would like to thank the U.S. government based on the second clause and second article of the Taiwan Relations Act. For the past 30 years, the U.S. government has been providing Taiwan with the necessary defensive weapons. We thank the U.S. government for doing so because it illustrated that both Taiwan and the United States share the common values of freedom and democracy. I hope that based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. government will continue this kind of necessary military assistance to Taiwan. This February, I had a chance to visit Tokyo. I engaged numerous conversations with both leaders from the ruling and opposition parties, as well as experts and think tank specialists. The Japanese government has expressed huge worry about regional peace and stability. In the past, comparing with other areas in the world, at least Asia Pacic remained relatively stable. That is because, countries like the U.S., Taiwan, South Korea and Japan were able to reinforce this kind of democratic alliance and democratic partnership. I hope that this kind of regional stability through collective work can continue. I also expect China as a rising power with increasing inuence, can also share political responsibility for the maintaining of peace and security in the region. So there is no need for China to deploy missiles against and targeting at Taiwan. For Chinese to win the hearts and minds of Taiwanese people, it takes more goodwill and sincerity, rather than missiles. If there is no direct military or missile threat from China, then Taiwan can diversify its budget to other areas, and help people get a better life. I expect that one day, Taiwan can enjoy more freedom, and live happily without feeling threatened by any kind of foreign military threat. I fully believe that Taiwanese people are peaceloving. I have also heard a lot of Chinese tourists, including the magazine editors, expressing their views about Taiwan. Some of them said that the most beautiful scene in Taiwan is not Alishan or Sun Moon Lake, but instead the
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goodwill and friendship expressed by the Taiwanese people. The DPP will further demonstrate as we did in our defense blue paper, determination and action for self-defense capability. Freedom is not free. We understand that perfectly so hopefully, the Chinese will also understand that. Question by CTI TV Reporter John Zang: When your predecessor Dr. Tsai was here to visit prior to the last elections, she was seen correctly or wrongly by some of her administration interrogators as circumventing, or evading, to responding to some of the U.S. concerns about her ability to deal with the Chinese Mainland, and to continue to maintain the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Have you on your current visit been confronted with the same challenge? What have you done, what have you said to the administration about your ability so that you can alleviate in a more effective way their concerns? Chair Sus Answer: Last time, during the last presidential election, the DPPs candidate, Madame Tsai Ing-wen, visited Washington, D.C. is regretful to see what happened to her as Mr. Zang mentioned earlier. My understanding is that she is a very capable candidate, and she has various experience in handling
cross strait affairs before. I would personally hope that this wont happen again next time. The way that the DPP has handled cross strait relations has been consistent because it meets the greatest expectations of the Taiwanese people. Even President Ma during the last presidential elections moved toward the DPPs position when it comes to issues like Taiwans status quo. He also pledged during the election that Taiwans future should be decided by the 23 million people. However, we regretfully saw that during Taiwans last election, when he sent some of his representatives to Beijing, they came up with this new notion of one Republic of China, two areas. If he said something like that during the election, he probably would not have won the re-election. As I said, the DPPs attitude towards China has been consistent. During this trip, when I had conversations with our friends from the administration, we had a very candid dialogue. I felt some of our sincerity and goodwill from our friends here, especially in the past 1 year, under my chairmanship, I have made tremendous efforts to try to convince our American friends, and also the international community, that the DPP is capable, and would be willing to handle cross strait relations. I have resumed the DPPs China Affairs Department, and I convened and established the DPPs China Affairs Committee. In the future, we will also introduce and invite Taiwan opinion leaders to join this kind of discussion and this kind of consensus building process. We will not only deal with the Chinese authorities, but also the Chinese society. Those are very comprehensive approaches. In fact in the past few months, the DPP has been engaging with the Chinese. A lot of Chinese scholars, including Chinese ofcials, have visited the DPP headquarters and think tank. We had very in-depth discussions. In some of the conferences held in Taipei, DPP ofcials also exchanged views with Chinese ofcials. I believe that more interaction and more dialogue, there would be less misunderstanding, and both sides should take a more positive approach toward this end. Confrontation does no good to deepening of cross strait understanding, and it would violate the benets of people from across the Taiwan Strait. As I admitted in my speech, in the past, there was a gap of perception on the way the DPP handled cross strait relations, but as I said, I made several efforts in the past one year, and I rmly believe that the DPP stands rmer when it comes to maintaining the mainstream views in Taiwan. There is a need for the DPP to engage further the international society to let our foreign friends understand these change and adjustments so in the future they PAGE 11
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will have more condence in the DPP. Question by David Brown, SAIS: In your remarks you said something about the general principles the DPP will pursue in developing a new approach for cross strait relations principles of reconciliation and pragmatism. These give me some hope that the process that you go under way in the DPP will lead to new innovative approaches, which will contribute to narrowing the gap that exists, and I am happy to wait for that process to fade out. What I would like to ask you is about the Chen Shui-bian era. You said policy of the DPP is always consistent. Well, in the Chen period, there were some positive things done in cross strait relations, but there were also some initiatives he took that raised tensions. Some of these were proposals he made domestically in Taiwan, and others were steps he took externally with the international community. My question to you is what lessons you personally draw from the way cross strait relations were handled in the Chen Shui-bian administration, and are there things that he did that you can reassure us that will not be repeated in the future DPP administration. Chair Sus Answer: I admit that in the past, some policies made by the DPP government, do need some kind of
re-examination. In fact, we have done some soul-searching in the past. Its time to move on. I mentioned in my speech earlier, that when it comes to policy toward cross strait relations, we shall not focus entirely on domestic politics or be driven by electoral politics. Ive said that consistently in the internal meetings at the DPP as well as in public speeches, and Ive said that here, too. DPP cannot isolate itself, it needs to reach out to the international society. To re-assure our good friends, we should not make any kind of surprise moves. We should also take into account the changes in regional dynamics as well as the bigger strategic environment. I think the DPP and everyone need to surpass what happened in the past, and re-assure our friends that the future DPP will be more responsible. However, having said that, I think the DPP still needs to maintain its core values and its core interests. We dont need to repeat that again and again, but we need to show that with strong action. Also by doing so, we will re-assure to the neighboring countries and also to our good friends that the DPP will be responsible because that is the constructive elements to regional peace and also to Taiwans stability. I mentioned again in my speech that I am a man of principle, and I am also very pragmatic. For the past 30 years of my political career, Ive never given up such principles. My words and deeds will not cause any kind of worries to our friends, so there is no need to create surprises especially to our foreign friends. It takes both sides of the Taiwan Strait through dialogues and interactions to nd win-win solutions. On the one hand the DPP will not give up its core principles, but on the other hand, we will show the world our goodwill toward a better cross strait relations. Question by Nadia Tsao, Liberty Times: My question for you is that while you are here making a speech, President Mas special envoy, Wu Poh-hsiung is in China having special dialogues with President Xi Jingping. It seems the Chinese are trying to lock-in whatever they have achieved right now within the One-China framework. I wonder does anything seem worrisome for the DPP. If the DPP become in power, how would you deal with the pressure from China for political dialogue. China seems to make this trend irreversible so does the DPP have any strategy or policy? Chair Sus Answer: The DPP adheres to the principle of democratic decision when it comes to future cross strait relations because it is based entirely on Taiwans democratic system and democratic procedure and let PAGE 12
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the people decide their future. To understand and also to push forward cross strait interactions, I think there are several elements needed for the safeguard: that is freedom, also parity and government to government basis. Party to party negotiations only represent their partys interests so when it comes to the meeting between Mr. Wu Poh-hsiung and Mr. Xi Jinping, it was based entirely on partys interests, without going through legislative checks and balances. Its not a normal dialogue and its not helpful to ofcial cross strait relations. The Chinese has never given up its goal to lock Taiwan into the socalled One China Framework. DPP, as I said earlier, will try everything it can to prevent China to lock Taiwan into the so-called One China Framework. Taiwan is not a part of the PRC. Even President Ma has said earlier that he will not engage, for the remainder of his presidency, in the process of negotiation with his Chinese counterpart on any political agreement. The more China pressures Taiwan, its like a seagull on the beach, the more you try to catch it, it will y away. Taiwanese people cherish its democratic achievement they have made in the past decades. For China to really win the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese people is to move toward democratic opening and embrace democracy, and it would be unhelpful for
Chinese to engage in military threats likes missile attack or political pressure to force Taiwan to give-in. It would not be attractive to the Taiwanese people. The DPP will adhere to these core principles at the same time try very hard to engage with China. Question by Douglas Paal, Former Director of the AIT I would like to push you a little bit on the economic side. You talk about hoping to implement free trade agreements, and to give some support to Taiwan industries. I wonder if you can talk about a little more where do you see the source of growth for Taiwans people in the economy how to tap the entrepreneurship on the island to beat the record of everybody else struggling to maintain growth today. Chair Sus Answer: We talked about the industrial and economic questions due to the limitation of my speech, I only touched upon it a little bit. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to elaborate. I think for the DPP to become more accountable and responsible to Taiwan society, we should come up with the best and better alternative policy proposals. We do not want to see the KMT continue to make mistakes because we want to outperform them so if the DPP comes back again, I wouldnt want to see that simply because the KMT failed to introduce government efciency. In fact for Taiwans own good, the DPP hopes that President Ma and his administration can do better for Taiwan in terms for pushing economic growth. As I said earlier in my speech, as an opposition, we want to become more than just an opposition. For example, on the economic issues, a couple of months ago, the DPP introduced its own so-called Compassionate Economic Package, and in that package, we proposed 13 economic reforms. We submitted that to the administration, but they refused to take our advice. In the future, if the DPP comes back to the ruling power in fact when the DPP was in power, we have done better in terms of GDP growth and also maintain the unemployment rate to certain low degrees. As I said, Taiwan needs to open up its market to the world, and in doing so, it needs to involve serious structural reform. We should promote more efciency in government procurement process in order to attract more foreign investments. Before I made my trip from Taipei, the American Chamber of Commerce just released its White Paper, it mentions specically the lack of government efciency, reminding President Ma and his government that if they cant introduce a series of reforms within one year, he will be literally a lame duck in the remainder of his presidency. The DPP concurs with what Amchams White Pa-
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per has suggested because this is something that the DPP has proposed previously. The DPP has done relatively well when we were in power. In the future, when the DPP comes back, we will base on those track records, try everything possible to bring Taiwans economy back on the right track. Right now, since President Ma still has three years left, as opposition we want on one hand push the government towards reform, but on the other hand, we will put our best hope on President Ma and his administration.
recently signed agreement with China because the current government did not inform the public ahead of time of its intentions, he said.
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DPP opens nationwide hotline for complaints regarding cross strait services agreement
sectors, which means that hundreds, and even up to more than a thousand sectors, could receive a wide impact from this agreement. In order to provide support to the people whose businesses will be affected by the services trade agreement, Chair Su made requests to the DPP Legislative Caucus and legislative bodies from different counties and cities to open hotlines and other communication channels so that they have means to file complaints. Chair Su also said that the DPP will ensure that they will request for a legislative review before the agreement can take effect. Mr. Wang said, If the government has not even produced a report, how can they prove with hard evidence that this agreement is beneficial for Taiwan? President Mas administration has said, via Vice President Wu Den-yih, that this agreement will provide even greater benefits for Taiwan. DPP Spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien added that the government has failed to fulfill its promises on ECFA three years ago. He said a previous poll showed that only 30% of the respondents said that ECFA brought benefits to Taiwan economy while 49.2% said not to believe it assisted to Taiwans economic improvement. The Cross Strait Services Trade Agreement will not be the last extension to ECFA as at the end of this year, there will be a Cross Strait Trade Agreement on Products, Mr. Lin said.
The DPP announced on June 25 the opening of a hotline for complaints regarding the recently signed cross strait services trade agreement. DPP Chair Su Tseng-chang also visited several county and city legislators, asking them to establish their own hotlines for receiving complaints filed by the people affected. According to Spokesperson Mr. Wang Ming-sheng, this will expand the DPP services in all localities from North to South. Mr. Wang said President Mas administration signed the services trade agreement with China in a non-transparent method, keeping the opposition parties in the dark. According to Mr. Wang, the pact was so secretive that even a large group of KMT legislators were unaware of the administrations intentions to sign the agreement. Even though the agreement says 64 sectors in Taiwans service industry will be allowed for Chinese investment, the sectors are based on international standards. Mr. Wang said that if looking at it closely, each sector covers a wide range of other
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The Defense Policy Blue Paper conducted more than 14 meetings to gather the different opinions of military experts from the Legislative Yuan, past government ofcials and research institutions, including recommendations from 31 retired military generals. Chair Su said he hoped this is a new start for cooperation, hoping that the current administration also places importance to Taiwans national defense, creating a more secure environment for all the people of Taiwan. He emphasized that national defense should be bipartisan, and it must overpass any party interests. The four chapters can be found at http://www.dppnff.tw/group_data.php?id=158&dat a=result# Please note, only Chapter 1 in its entirety and the Forewords of Chapter 2, 3 and 4 are translated into English.
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