This Week in Taiwan 0317-0323
March 19: The Coast Guard Administration is set to hold a completion ceremony for its pier improvement project at Taiping Island (Itu Aba) in the South China Sea. The Kuomintang (KMT) urged President Tsai Ing-wen to follow the example of former presidents Chen Shui-bian and Ma Ying-jeou by visiting Taiping Island before leaving office to assert sovereignty. The Foreign Affairs and National Committee of the Legislative Yuan plans to visit the island on May 16 to inspect the living facilities and combat readiness of military personnel there.
March 19: President-elect William Lai visited the Hsinchu Science Park for a closed-door meeting with semiconductor industry leaders. During the meeting, Chairman Frank Huang of the Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) raised the issue of electricity price hikes and suggested that the government consider further research and development of advanced and safer nuclear power, or even permit the semiconductor industry to build its own nuclear power plants to make the industry electrically self-sufficient.
March 19: Vice President-elect Bi-khim Hsiao recently paid a low-key visit to the United States and subsequently traveled to Europe. In a social media post, President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil of the Czech Republic unexpectedly revealed his meeting with Hsiao during a seminar organized by the Czech think tank SINOPSIS.
March 19: Both India and the United States have successively promoted legislation to ban TikTok. Responding to interpellation at the Legislative Yuan, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang stated that any product foreign hostile forces can control, whether directly or indirectly, is considered a threat to national information security. TikTok is currently classified as such a threat.
March 20: The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will set up two CoWos advanced process packaging plants in the Chiayi Science Park. The first plant is expected to begin production in 2028, requiring 33,000 tons of water per day. In the early stage, the Water Resources Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), plans to provide water from Yunlin's Hushan Reservoir to meet this water demand, sparking a water battle between Yunlin and Chiayi. Interestingly, Yunlin County had previously vied for TSMC's presence, but now Yunlin finds itself supporting TSMC's water supply, creating local backlash.
March 21: Admiral John Aquilino, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, denied recent reports from military news website SOFREP that claimed U.S. special personnel are "permanently stationed" on Kinmen Island. Aquilino asserted that the report is false, emphasizing that U.S. forces are not currently stationed there. Additionally, he mentioned that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is actively preparing for a potential attack on Taiwan by 2027, following Chinese President Xi Jinping's directive.
March 21: The Central Bank held its first-quarter board meeting, surprising the market by raising interest rates by 12.5 basis points, increasing the discount rate from 1.875 percent to 2 percent, the highest level since January 2009. Governor Yang Chin-long clarified that this rate hike is preemptive, and while monetary policy remains tight, further increases this year will be limited.
March 22: The electricity price review committee of the MOEA approved an across-the-board electricity price increase starting in April. This adjustment affects both industrial and residential users, with an average increase of 11 percent. The Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) has consistently advocated for a stable power supply and has urged the government to reconsider nuclear energy in its energy mix.
March 25: Former President Ma Ying-jeou will once again lead a delegation of students to visit mainland China. The trip, which begins on April 1 and lasts for 11 days, will include visits to Guangdong, Shaanxi, and Beijing. The question of whether Ma will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing has become a focal point. Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, expressed the hope that, based on the significant historical milestone achieved with the 2015 meeting between the two leaders, they would certainly welcome the opportunity for "old friends" to meet again.