Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Balance of power sees Ma aligned with China

James Wang 王景弘

In 1972, before then-US president Richard Nixon’s visit to China, US national security adviser Henry Kissinger was expounding his “balance of power” theory. This saw the US working with China to keep the Soviet Union in check over the next 15 years. Another 20 years on, the US president has changed tack, teaming up with Russia against China.

This rotation of the triangle of relations between the three powers took place almost 20 years later than Kissinger had predicted, but now we have US President Barack Obama’s administration concentrating once more on US-Russia relations: They recently signed the first nuclear weapons pact between the two countries in two decades. The US has clearly decided its best bet is to lean toward Russia to keep China under control.

ECFA, Another Insult from the People that Gave Taiwan 6-3-3

Jerome F. Keating Ph.D.

Only a complete dunce totally of touch with Taiwan's reality would claim ignorance of Ma Ying-jeou's infamous 6-3-3 promise in all its foolhardy glory. This campaign promise of the 2008 presidential elections came about when Ma's so-called A-Team of economic advisors told him that 6-3-3 was easily achievable and he should have no fear of promising it. It was of course a gross misread of the economic scene from the git-go. Despite all the back-tracking that it would have to wait until a nebulous transformation in 2016 when Ma could comfortably escape as well as attempts to blame it all on outside forces, the reality remains it was bad advice and a total economic misread.

The Cabinet’s shortsighted PhDs

Taipei Times Editorial

The Cabinet may claim to be a body of doctoral degree holders, but they are often incapable of explaining their ever-changing policies. This was true of the US beef import debacle and it applies both to an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China and to the draft industrial renewal act that the legislature is about to vote on. On the eve of the vote, the Cabinet suddenly announced that it would cut the 20 percent business income tax rate in the draft to 17 percent. That cut will cost the government NT$30 billion (US$956 million) in lost tax revenue.

Taiwan needs boost in creativity, not more cuts in taxes

Taiwan News Editorial

Initially billed as a means to simulate industrial innovation and research and development, the draft Statute to Encourage Industrial Innovation has turned into yet another program to provide a "low cost" environment for Taiwan businesses with scant concern for the cultivation of long-term sustainable competitiveness based on high value added, robust product and service quality and creativity.

Initially approved by the rightist Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) Cabinet in May 2009, the draft bill was advertized as a means to promote research and development, innovation and manpower training and provide ways to solve the needs of business for capital and land.

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