Wednesday, July 20, 2011

When economics has become politically sensitive

l  Since mid-2009, consecutive Chinese procurement delegations—usually led by government or party officials—have come and visited Taiwan as part of Beijing’s “buy things Taiwan” campaign.

l  These procurement missions have provided a healthy boost to Taiwan’s export-oriented industries in the last two years. However, these high-profile Chinese delegations also allowed the opposition to criticize the government for “putting all the eggs in one basket” and made Taiwan too dependent on China economically.

l  As the legislative and presidential elections near, cross-Strait exchanges have become more sensitive even though they remain mostly economic in nature. The government also does not want to give the appearance that it is too “China-leaning.”

l  Most expect that, in addition to taking a tougher stance on issues like US arms procurement and the sovereign status of the Republic of China (ROC), Taipei will likely.....

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