The Week in Taiwan 1112-1118
November 13: The IBM Kaohsiung Software Technology Integration Service Center opened, which is IBM's first software service center and information security monitoring center in Taiwan. In line with the Kaohsiung City Government's "Asia New Bay Area 2.0" plan, investment is expected to reach several billion New Taiwan dollars and will bring 1,000 job opportunities over five years.
November 14: The Ministry of Transportation and Communications recently announced the lifting of the ban on assembling tour groups to mainland China, and travel companies can begin to promote and sell related packages. However, Chairman Chiu Tai-san of the Mainland Affairs Council stated that the quota will be limited to 2,000 in the initial stage, triggering a backlash from the industry. In a statement, the Travel Agent Association indicated that the number of customers who have paid deposits and received tickets is at least tens of thousands. If the government decides to impose a quota as a matter of policy, the industry will have to settle numerous disputes.
November 14: The annual meeting of the 2023 Cross-Strait CEO Summit opened in Nanjing. Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter stating that the mainland will continue to promote cross-strait economic exchanges and cooperation, deepen cross-strait integration and development across various domains, and improve the system and policies to enhance the well-being of Taiwan compatriots. Wang Huning, second in command in the Communist Party on Taiwan matters and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, indicated at the meeting that the mainland will further promote the integration and development of the economies on both sides of the strait to make the bridge of economic and industrial cooperation stronger.
November 16: President Joe Biden of the United States and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for four hours in San Francisco. According to American officials, the two sides had a concrete exchange of views on Taiwan. Xi denied that there were plans to use force against Taiwan in 2027 or 2023 and reiterated the call for peaceful reunification but did not rule out the use of force. Xi expressed clear concern that Taiwan is the most likely issue to cause danger in U.S.-China relations. Biden reiterated the consistent position of the United States in supporting peace and stability.
November 17: Taiwan's Super Basketball League match-fixing and gambling case continues to unravel. The prosecution searched 16 places, including the Yulon basketball team's player dormitory, and interviewed 16 people, including coaches, and active and retired players. Eight of the nine players were charged, including the Senegalese player Sarr Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award of the championship game, and renowned guard Ko Min-hao. The case has seriously damaged the image of the Yulon team.
November 17: MediaTek held a summit in the United States. Chief Executive Officer Rick Tsai stated that MediaTek's smartphone solutions have achieved a leading global market share, and the revenue scale of flagship single-chip smartphones this year will reach US$1 billion. Jean Boufarhat, vice president of Meta Reality Labs, attended the meeting, and the two parties announced cooperation in the new generation of augmented reality (AR) glasses.
November 18: During a press conference at the end of the Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Taiwan's representative Morris Chang indicated that the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was a good one which helped reduce tension and increase stability across the Taiwan Strait. Regarding the opinion that the United States will actively defend stability in the Taiwan Strait only if the semiconductor industry and research centers remain in Taiwan, Chang declined to comment but indicated that it is impossible for the United States to establish a production capacity at the scale of TSMC in the short term.
During this trip, Chang interacted with more than half of the economic leaders, including Vice President Kamala Harris of the United States and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan.
November 18: The Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) were originally scheduled to announce their joint presidential ticket on November 18, but the two sides disagreed on how to define the margin of error. The TPP led by Ko Wen-je has insisted on 3 percent, as opposed to "plus or minus 3 percent," which is 6 percent. Poll experts held an all-night meeting without results, and the KMT-TPP alliance once again fell into a deadlock. However, Ko also emphasized that the KMT-TPP alliance is not yet broken and hopes to negotiate again as soon as possible.