The Executive Yuan announced Sept. 5 its promotion plan for the New Southbound Policy based on guidelines that were approved by the Office of the President Aug. 16, setting Taiwan down a path toward economic prosperity and increased global reach.
According to Deng Chen-chung, minister without portfolio, “Settling in for the long haul, seeking comprehensive development and creating mutual benefits are the promotion plan’s core principles.”
The New Southbound Policy is meant to forge a sense of economic community between Taiwan and 18 countries—10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, six South Asian states, as well as Australia and New Zealand—in order to boost the scope and diversity of the nation’s export economy while minimizing overreliance on any single market.
Kao Shien-quey, deputy minister of the Cabinet-level National Development Council, said the promotion plan will take a four-pronged approach. Regarding economic and trade cooperation, “Taiwan will make good use of its strengths, such as the expertise gained from designing the nation’s electronic toll collection system, to meet the needs of partner nations,” she said. “Taiwan’s industrial development efforts in five major high-tech areas, ranging from biotechnology to green energy, will be introduced to countries interested in these fields.”
When it comes to talent exchange, Kao said the Ministry of Education aims to forge stronger ties with countries in Southeast Asia by offering additional scholarships to foreign nationals from the region. Currently, around 28,000 students of Southeast Asian descent are studying in Taiwan’s colleges and universities, and the MOE expects that number to double by 2019.
In the area of resources sharing, the promotion plan is designed to boost bilateral and multilateral cooperation in medical care, culture, tourism, agriculture, technology, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The Ministry of Science and Technology, for example, is establishing channels to boost international technology exchanges, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been loosening visa regulations for tourists from South and Southeast Asia.
On the forging of regional links, “The government will work with nongovernmental organizations, overseas Taiwanese, Taiwan businesses operating abroad and countries friendly to Taiwan to jointly create an environment favorable to Taiwan businesses and people in targeted nations,” Deng said.
The promotion plan involves 16 Cabinet-level government bodies, with the NDC tasked with evaluating the performances of participating government agencies on a quarterly basis. According to Deng, a trade office under the Executive Yuan will soon be established to coordinate and negotiate with foreign governments. The minister also said the New Southbound Policy Office under the Office of the President will continue to act as an advisory body.
Taiwan already has a sound footing from which it can launch new initiatives with ASEAN member states. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, over 11,000 Taiwan firms have invested upwards of US$88 billion in the region and given the area’s abundant resources and Taiwan’s industrial expertise, much stands to be gained by all parties from comprehensive partnerships.
In addition, the Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu on Economic Cooperation, or ANZTEC, entered into force in 2013. This agreement was designed to liberalize and facilitate trade between the two markets, and saw Taiwan’s exports to New Zealand increase 120 percent in the first six months, demonstrating the vast potential of increased international cooperation. (OC-E)
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