Taiwan plans to build 500 cruise missiles

Hi KYli

No offence, but if I am not wrong, the ROC only had 30 billion trade surplus .

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Ouch Its not like me to make mistakes like that. I am sure I saw $300 Billion, but now I cannot relocate my original source (or any other).

I know it seems high, but could depend on how its calculated. If offshored factory output (incorporating) Domestically produced components get classed as Exports then its not an unrealistic figure. But that is a guess. If any of you gents can grab the official figures (bearing in mind you lot lost me a good thread last night :nono: ) I would very for being able to save my own time and effort.

SampanViking said:

Hi KYli



Ouch Its not like me to make mistakes like that. I am sure I saw $300 Billion, but now I cannot relocate my original source (or any other).

I know it seems high, but could depend on how its calculated. If offshored factory output (incorporating) Domestically produced components get classed as Exports then its not an unrealistic figure. But that is a guess. If any of you gents can grab the official figures (bearing in mind you lot lost me a good thread last night :nono: ) I would very for being able to save my own time and effort.

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I did a quick check. Trade suplus around 33billion without calculated some figures, and trade surplus around 58billion for 2005 include offshored factory output. Trade surplus around 330billion for accumulated trade.






Actually, the thread didn't got out of hand, but was closed because the subject was too sensitive. The_Zergling and I would have stoped anyway. Don't be mad .

Yeah, I felt pretty bad about getting the thread closed until I realized that that kind of topic (relating to Japan-China-Taiwan) was going to get closed anyway, and I felt a bit better...

Cheers, Sanpanviking!

;;

Taiwan's annual export is $185 billion, and imports $173 billion. It's not possible to have an annual trade surplus of $300 billion with those numbers.

Here's a Taipei times article on the trade surplus:


Taiwan posted a trade surplus of US$58 billion with China last year (2005), Li said, adding that Taiwan's accumulated trade surplus of US$330 billion with China eclipsed its foreign exchange reserves of US$253.29 billion at the end of December.

Thank you gentlemen, for your combined help.

Yes the accumulted surplus was the one I saw, obviously I read incorrectly (danger of skimming). The other stats are interesting and useful too.

Trying desperatly to stay on topic however, there is still an degree of tension in the security position.

Assuming for a moment that in the next couple of years a new Taiwanese Government comes into office which seeks a more concilitary policy towards the mainland, then, with regards to both sides militaries how could:

a) both sides start building confidence measures of good will and avoid possible misunderstandings across the straits.

b) If Confrontation were to turn into Co-operation, how could the two militaries start working together to ensure mutual security.

I look forward to your replies

It seems Chen is at it again.

He is repeating his threats against the National Unification Council, despite nobody supporting his position abroad. Lets just hope there is enough power and will in Taiwan itself to prevent this Idiot doing something stupid.

If we are lucky, being shown as incapable of even such a relativly simple act of governance, would show just how Lame a Duck Chen had become and hasten his enivitable departure.

SampanViking said:

It seems Chen is at it again.

He is repeating his threats against the National Unification Council, despite nobody supporting his position abroad. Lets just hope there is enough power and will in Taiwan itself to prevent this Idiot doing something stupid.

If we are lucky, being shown as incapable of even such a relativly simple act of governance, would show just how Lame a Duck Chen had become and hasten his enivitable departure.

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I don't think the opposition could do much to stop him. Even US has hard time to deal with him now. He just want trouble. Anyway since Chen will not need to have another election, I doubt Chen will bow to public pressure.

I don't think Chen is just someone looking for trouble to create hardships for the Taiwanese people. I just believe that he is an idealist who doesn't realize that what he believes is not relevant to the world because China has bigger guns (and a bigger checkbook) thereby making China's opinion worthwhile.

He sticks to his Taiwan Independence-leaning stance because he thinks that this (national identity) is an important issue, the side-effect of this being that Taiwan is losing position in the global market largely because of China.

What is ironic is that for all important aspects, Taiwan already IS its own country, and he's just wasting his time affirming it all the time. Taiwan's got its own currency, own passport, own government and legal system, own military... It's not important if the world calls you Taiwan or Taiwan, Province of the Great Motherland of China! What matters is that the Taiwanese people are suffering from lack of economic prosperity.

I agree with most of his ideals, but what he should realize is that now isn't the right time. Maybe sometime when Taiwan gets its economy back up (possibly from integrating with China), that would be the appropriate time. As of now, survival is paramount.

My whole point of the post was mostly to assert that I don't think he's a madman that will start a war against China for no good reason, but he is an idealist that wants to keep Taiwan from being annexed by China. (Hence the "need" for the Cruise Missiles)

Hi The_Zergling

I have to strongly disagree.

I have fellow the Taiwan news for years, from all wings of both major parties for the matter. Lefties DPP, moderate DPP, moderate KMT, right wing KMT. In public they say what they will win them the most air time or the most votes. However the pro-independence and pro=unification camps are neither. They are both just politicians, take away the TV cameras and they have a very hard time finding something to disagree about.

Why is President Chen Shui bian proposing a referendum not on independence? Why Chen will do some radical move only when either he is in an election or he is in trouble? The simple fact is Chen is a politician not an idealist. An idealist will say and do things as they believe, and politician will do things that will benefict them the most.

Zergling, for these many years, how many time did Chen changed his stance. One day Chen made a statement for independent, and the next he will say something otherwise. I think you will be better to agree with DPP stance, not CSF or any politicans they are just a bunch of liars.

Chen was never a madman, but an politician that will do anything for power. About other things you say, I will not comment since we do not allow to dicuss Taiwan.

Hi KYli Hi Zergling

Well at the very least you could say he was presenting cynisem as if it were idealisem.

I don't think the opposition could do much to stop him

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Well this the main question isnt it.

The Council itself is almost irrelavent, it has done nothing for years and can be very easily resserected later by another administration.

The point here is about political power and will. Chen holds the Presidency but has lost control of the Legislative Chambers. The question is whether or not he will be able to enforce this policy against very powerful Political and Commercial Opposition.

This opposition will be making it very clear to legislators, judges and opinion makers, that any decision they make on this issue will have critical long term career implications.

Consequently, although he may decree the Council be liquidated, he may find that the levers of power required to effect this change no longer work for him and that the legality of his decree is challenged by senior judges and advocates.

Chen probably realises this, but is still hoping to provoke a PR blunder from the PRC which would cause the KMT's political and public opinion gains of the last year to evaporate. Hopefully the PRC will remain largely mute and allow the Taiwanese opposition to make the running.