Office of the President approves guidelines for New Southbound Policy

2016/08/19

Guidelines for the New Southbound Policy were approved by the Office of the President Aug. 16 during a meeting on foreign trade strategy convened by President Tsai Ing-wen, setting out a path for Taiwan to forge closer ties with countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Oceania.

According to Office of the President spokesman Alex Huang, the guidelines state that the long-term goals of the policy are to strengthen Taiwan’s economic, technological and cultural links with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand so as to promote the sharing of resources, talent and markets. They also indicate that the initiative aims to create a comprehensive mechanism for negotiations and dialogue in order to effectively resolve differences and build trust and consensus.

The short- and medium-term goals of the New Southbound Policy are to facilitate increased exchanges with the targeted nations on investment, tourism, culture and human resources, encourage Taiwan companies to explore opportunities in these countries in line with the government’s new economic development model, develop the local talent pool to facilitate the growth in interactions with these regions, and expand bilateral and multilateral dialogue to enhance economic cooperation and tackle disputes.

The guidelines also list 10 implementation standards, including actively participating in international cooperation, collaborating with the private sector on boosting Taiwan’s exchanges with the regions, revising related laws and regulations, and drawing up risk management procedures. They also state that the government should work to define Taiwan’s economic role in the regions, establishing it as an innovator and service provider, while actively bolstering links with targeted countries through increased business collaboration, people-to-people contacts, soft power promotion and supply chain integration.

Huang said as Taiwan and mainland China both have a responsibility to promote regional peace and prosperity, the two sides could exert greater influence if they cooperated. Taiwan does not rule out holding discussions with mainland China on related issues so as to ensure the New Southbound Policy and cross-strait relationship complement each other, he added.

The guidelines for the New Southbound Policy also state that the Office of the President and all related government agencies should develop their own protocols, comprehensive programs and flagship projects for the initiative. They also note that the central government should build mechanisms for negotiating and communicating with the Legislative Yuan and local governments in order to ensure the integration and effective use of associated resources.

The participants in the meeting were Premier Lin Chuan, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Tawei Lee, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chang Hsiao-yueh, Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun, and National Development Council Minister Chen Tain-jy.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=247068&ctNode=2194&mp=9)