【Epoch Times News July 26, 2024】The Executive Yuan of the Republic of China approved the “Trillion Investment National Development Plan” on the 18th. The Japanese media published an interview with Executive Yuan Chief Cho Rong-tai on the 25th. Cho Rong-tai stated that despite the Legislature being controlled by the opposition parties, the new government is prepared to launch ambitious economic and social reform plans, aiming to attract investment of nearly $100 billion (about NT$3.27 trillion).
According to reports from the Central News Agency, Executive Yuan Chief Cho Rong-tai, in an interview with Nikkei Asia, mentioned that this plan envisions investments in areas including energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and infrastructure. This was one of his first interviews with foreign media since taking office in May.
Cho Rong-tai mentioned that based on President Lai Ching-te’s industrial development direction outlined in the inaugural speech on May 20th, the cabinet team will pursue a vision of “looking ahead to the future, wisdom sustainability,” while also “competing in space, exploring the oceans,” and “being rooted in Taiwan, expanding globally, and marketing to the world.” He pointed out that President Lai, as a professionally trained physician, has also included “Healthy Taiwan” as a key governing concept.
In the interview before Typhoon Kemi hit Taiwan, Cho Rong-tai spoke about “Healthy Taiwan,” aiming to maintain the health of the people and make the nation stronger. He emphasized the importance of encouraging the world to embrace Taiwan. The government hopes to attract overseas investment back to Taiwan through tax incentives, attract overseas Taiwanese businesses, and collaborate on significant infrastructure projects and key industries.
Cho Rong-tai noted that through these initiatives, he sees an opportunity to attract Taiwanese businesses from China back to Taiwan.
With economic growth slowing down, strong governance, and tense geopolitical situations casting shadows over the Chinese business environment and driving away foreign investments. In China, Taiwan companies face high risks. Beijing has repeatedly imposed import bans and increased tariffs on Taiwanese products. Recently, they even passed a law threatening to impose severe penalties on supporters of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Cho Rong-tai stated, “From a legal or political perspective, China is no longer an attractive investment environment. Many Taiwanese companies are returning.” He also mentioned plans to strengthen Taiwan’s overseas investment strategy. While Taiwan is establishing industrial zones overseas, “Regarding our foreign investment, we hope to protect Taiwan’s economic security while achieving market diversification. If private investments do not align with the country’s overall strategic goals, what should we do? We must more strictly control the destination and target of investments.”
Regarding the struggle between the ruling and opposition parties in the legislature, Cho Rong-tai called on all parties to “put themselves in each other’s shoes.” He said, “In parliament, we (Democratic Progressive Party) are, of course, the minority party, but we have been pushing forward bills that meet the people’s needs and shelving controversial bills.” He revealed that he had met with the Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu, who also expressed similar views.
The current government is determined to address the shortage of affordable housing and the challenges facing young people. “The government will review the tax system and address employment and wage issues. We hope that small and medium-sized enterprises can hire more young people and increase their wages. The government will utilize incentives such as tax cuts or exemptions to play a positive role.”
Regarding the issue of regulating artificial intelligence, Cho Rong-tai stated that given Taiwan’s strong position in semiconductors, “the government’s AI-related legislation will be favorable for future sustainable development, while also protecting human autonomy, transparency, privacy rights, and information security.”
Another vital task for Cho Rong-tai is energy security. He pointed out that the period from 2023 to 2026 “is a crucial time for us because many existing power plants are scheduled to retire during this period, and we must ensure that new power plants come online as planned. We cannot afford to make mistakes.”
Following announcements by Nvidia, Foxconn, Supermicro, and others planning to build new supercomputers or AI data centers in Taiwan, the urgency of the energy security issue has escalated. TSMC and other chip manufacturers are also expanding their capacities.
The Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs released the latest forecast for Taiwan’s electricity demand for the next 10 years. The report indicates that from 2023 to 2028, AI-related electricity demand will increase eightfold, while overall electricity demand across Taiwan will grow at a yearly rate of around 2.8% from 2024 to 2033.
According to Cho Rong-tai, “In addition to offshore wind power, solar, and hydropower generation, we are also researching hydrogen and geothermal energy.” Based on data from Taiwan Power Company, renewable energy accounted for 9.9% of total electricity generation in Taiwan last year, while nuclear power made up 7%.
Despite the recognition by the Executive Yuan Chief, analysts cautioned that the opposition parties might use their legislative advantage to obstruct government plans. Nick Marro, Chief Economist for Asia at the Economist Intelligence Unit, warned that given the situation in the Legislative Yuan, “we expect that government consumption spending will partially weigh down economic growth this year and possibly next year.”
Recently, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research increased its forecast for Taiwan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for this year from 3.38% to 3.81%, driven by exports and private consumption. However, Marro warned, “Obstacles from the opposition to President Lai’s policy plans, as well as widespread debates over infrastructure development and other policies, hinder many of President Lai’s public spending plans, which will also impact economic growth.”
Cho Rong-tai stated that the government hopes to “sincerely negotiate with the Legislative Yuan to collectively address issues affecting the people.”