Economic Transformation and Taiwan's Preeminence

Economic Transformation and Taiwan's Preeminence
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
June 18, 2012

Summary: Today the United Daily News Vision Workshop is introducing its "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation" Editorial Series. We hope this in-depth, cross-border exploration of Taiwan's economy will lay the cornerstone for the United Daily News Vision Workshop.

Full Text below:

Today the United Daily News Vision Workshop is introducing its "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation" Editorial Series. We hope this in-depth, cross-border exploration of Taiwan's economy will lay the cornerstone for the United Daily News Vision Workshop.

Last year, when the United Daily News celebrated its 60th anniversary, it established its Vision Workshop. The purpose of the Vision Workshop is to suggest visions for the nation's future. Key among its purposes, is to choose from the many problems bedeviling Taiwan society, to conduct in-depth investigations into these problems, and to propose solutions to them.

We hope as a member of the Fourth Estate to promote a paradigm shift. We hope as social reformers to join with society to suggest visions for the nation's future. Towards this goal, the media and society should exert influence and instigate change.

Today the Vision Workshop launched its first project: "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation." This transnational project attempts to alert people to the seriousness of Taiwan's economic plight. We hope to join the public in fundamentally transforming Taiwan's economy, and enabling it to be reborn.

The "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation" compares the economic development of the four Asian Tigers: South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Viewed from eye level, it is difficult to grasp the worsening condition of Taiwan's economy. South Korea's free trade agreements (FTA) are coming to fruition. Its economic reach is increasing. Its international competitiveness is improving. Hong Kong is close to Mainland China. It enjoys extra leverage. The Pearl of the Orient attracts the attention of the entire world. Singapore is an Asian hub for goods, capital, and human talent. The international environment is highly competitive. Taiwan trails the other Asian Tigers in container handling capacity, total trade, and per capita GNP. They are growing. We are shrinking. Taiwan faces an rapid brain drain. Industry faces serious bottlenecks and other developmental crises. 

Now consider the historical context. The "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation" Editorial Series underscores some hard facts we must face. Taiwan's "economic miracle" was once the object of international praise. It was imitated by less developed countries. But those days are long gone. They have been replaced by instance after instance of failed economic policies. Today, in the international imagination, we are a cautionary tale. The most vivid example in recent memory occurred in Singapore. Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam noted that if Singapore prevented foreign talent from entering the country, it would reenact "The Taiwan Story," and lose its global competitiveness. The problems caused by Taiwan's Closed Door Policy did not begin today. They have merely become more serious as a result of increasingly intense global competition. The adverse effects did not emerge in the past. Now that they are emerging, they are increasingly heartbreaking. Our policy on imported labor is complacent. Examples of inaction abound. This is why Taiwan's economy is stagnating, and why it is so far behind the international competition.

Recently the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research celebrated Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It held a series of tenth anniversary of seminars. It proclaimed the necessity of economic and trade liberalization. Ironically, Taiwan's economic and trade liberalization stopped when it was admitted to the WTO a decade ago. During this period, some small measure of deregulation took place. But nothing remotely like the across the board liberalization 25 years ago. Nothing like the grand vision of an Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center 15 years ago. Nothing like the highly praised economic liberalization policies 10 years ago. Except for ECFA, signed two years ago, the record is virtually blank.

During the past decade, Taiwan underwent its second change in ruling parties. It confronted the SARS epidemic. It endured a series of blows from the global financial tsunami. Economic policy makers were forced to fight fires instead of making long term plans. But were the challenges faced by South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore over the past ten years any less daunting? They did not slow their development. They bravely confronted their economic growing pains. They took into account their national interests. They did what they had to do. This is where South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore differ from Taiwan. Today, Taiwan's economy faces an array of difficulties. This is the inevitable result of over ten years of stagnation. If we cling to our ostrich with its head in the sand attitude, if we continue to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to our problems, if we persist in doing nothing, our predicament will become irremediable. If this generation forfeits its vision, will the next generation even have a future?

When making this series we conducted many interviews. We discovered widespread anxiety in the private sector. We perceived a sense of urgency, a conviction that Taiwan must advance rapidly. Many respondents volunteered that Taiwan must take advantage of the next two years. No major elections are scheduled. This offers us an opportunity to do what is necessary to bring order out of chaos, and to undergo a rebirth. This is where the title "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation" comes from. We have two years in which to make up for over ten years of neglect. This is akin to having three years to cure a seven year old disease. The difficulty of the task cannot be understated. But we must have stout hearts and firm wills. We must transform Taiwan's economy. We must guide the nation down the right path. We must restore Taiwan's preeminence. Otherwise our economy will remain as it has over the past decade. It will grind to a halt due to sorts of obstacles.

One thing is worth celebrating. Taiwan still has a number of specific economic advantages. The opportunities for development brought about by ECFA still await. This is the capital that will enable Taiwan's economy to experience a rebirth. What's frustrating is that the problem is so obvious. But conflict between the ruling and opposition parties make it impossible to address the problem rationally. Therefore, the "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation" Editorial Series is not merely an appeal to the government. It is also an appeal to the opposition parties. We hope the ruling and opposition parties will work together to promote Taiwan's rapid progress, and move towards positive change.

The "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Transformation" Editorial Series is the Vision Workshop's first contribution. Next Monday we will hold the "Two Critical Years for Taiwan's Economic Future" Summit. We will invite representatives from various fields. They will discuss priorities for the two critical years. Here, we want to thank former Vice President Vincent Siew for serving as summit host. He helped formulate the theme and structure of the summit. We also want to thank the domestic companies, the government officials, and the foreign experts who assisted in the creation of the series. This "creation of a vision" was a transnational exploration. We are convinced that "economic transformation and Taiwan's preeminence" is the key to exerting influence and instigating change. It is what Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties must work hand in hand to achieve.

啟動願景：經濟轉骨 台灣卓越
【聯合報╱社論】
2012.06.18

聯合報系願景工作室企劃製作的《關鍵兩年，台灣快轉》系列專題今起刊出；期望藉由這個深入探討台灣經濟轉骨工程的跨國報導，為聯合報系的「願景工程」砌起第一塊磚。

聯合報系去年六十周年時宣示，將成立願景工作室，推動願景工程；核心工作在選擇台灣社會的重要議題，不只進行深度報導，且嘗試提出解決方案，以促成台灣發生「正向改變」。

我們的心志是：一方面進行媒體功能的「典範移轉」，另一方面也參與社會改革的「願景創造」。在此一思考下，我們對媒體與社會互動關係的新定義是：形塑影響、策動轉變。

願景工作室今天啟動了第一項願景工程：《關鍵兩年，台灣快轉》。這項跨國製作的系列專題，其所寄望形塑的影響是喚起國人對台灣嚴峻經濟情勢的關注，所追求的正向改變則是希望與國人共策台灣經濟的轉骨與新生。

《關鍵兩年，台灣快轉》這個系列專題，是以亞洲四小龍──韓國、新加坡、香港及台灣的經濟發展大勢做為比較研究的報導主體。從地球空間的水平切面上看，不難發現當前台灣經濟日趨嚴峻的困境：韓國自由貿易協定（ＦＴＡ）開花結果，經濟領土如蜘蛛網般經緯縱橫，國際市場競爭力大增；香港背靠中國大陸，借力使力，東方明珠再次吸聚全球目光；新加坡成為亞洲轉運中心，貨物、資金、人才蓬勃蒸騰；在這樣的國際競爭態勢下，台灣的貨櫃裝卸量、貿易總額、平均每人國民生產毛額（人均ＧＤＰ）全已落居四小龍之末，彼長我消下，台灣面臨人才快速流失、產業升級陷入瓶頸等重重發展危機。

再拉到歷史時間的垂直切面觀察，《關鍵兩年，台灣快轉》專題揭露了一個必須正視的事實，昔日受到國際稱頌、更是後進國家爭相模仿、複製的台灣「經濟奇蹟」，早已乏人聞問，取而代之的竟是一次又一次被當做足昭炯戒的失敗案例在國際流傳。近期最鮮明的例子是新加坡副總理尚達曼直指，若新加坡阻止外國人才進入，將重演「台灣故事」，喪失在全球的競爭力；但是，台灣的封閉政策並非始於現在，只是在全球化愈演愈烈的國際競爭下，過去並未浮現的不利影響，現在已顯得愈來愈錐心刺骨。然而，類如人才政策故步自封、無所作為的例子不知凡幾，也正是這樣的停滯不前，讓台灣在國際競爭中被遠遠拋在後頭。

最近中華經濟研究院舉行了慶祝台灣加入世界貿易組織（ＷＴＯ）十周年的一系列座談活動，宣示經貿自由化的必要性；諷刺的是，台灣如今的經貿自由化程度，其實也就停止在十年前加入ＷＴＯ時的階段，其間或有些許個別的鬆綁措施，卻俱已不見廿五年前全面推動自由化、十五年前發展亞太營運中心的宏大念想，十年來獲得認同的重大經濟自由化政策，除了兩年前簽訂的兩岸經濟合作協議（ＥＣＦＡ），幾近是空白。

這十年間，台灣二度政黨輪替，又面臨ＳＡＲＳ疫情、全球金融海嘯等連串衝擊，使得經濟施政的短期救火甚於長期奠基；可是，十年來韓港星面臨的挑戰不小於台灣，卻並未因此停下發展的腳步，而皆能勇敢地面對經濟發展最深刻的痛、最難熬的苦，從國家社會利益出發，做該做的事，這正是韓港星與台灣最大的差異所在。現今台灣經濟面臨的種種困境，其實是十餘年停滯的必然；如果，我們再繼續當鴕鳥，視而不見、聽而不聞、聞而不為，那麼，困境就可能成為絕境。如果這一代失去願景，下一代焉有未來？

在製作此一專題的採訪過程中，我們發現了廣泛存在於民間的焦慮感，也感知了台灣必須快步向前的急迫感；許多受訪者不約而同地表示，台灣必須把握未來兩年國內沒有重大選舉的政治空間，迅速採取必要的行動，撥亂反正，脫胎換骨。這就是專題的名稱《關鍵兩年，台灣快轉》的由來。以兩年之力補十餘年之缺，猶如七年之疾求三年之艾，其艱辛困難不言可喻，但我們必須要有強烈的企圖心及堅定的意志力，始有可能啟動台灣經濟轉骨工程，將國家導引至向前向上的道路上，重新找回卓越的台灣；否則就會像過去十餘年一樣，總是因為種種阻礙而停下來。

值得慶幸的是，台灣經濟的若干特異優勢猶在，ＥＣＦＡ帶來的發展機遇亦待開展，這些都是台灣經濟轉骨的本錢；然而，令人無奈也無力的是，問題雖是如此顯而易見，但朝野之間的對峙矇蔽了解決問題的理智。因此，《關鍵兩年，台灣快轉》不只是向政府呼籲，也是對在野黨諍勸，寄望朝野同心協力，推動台灣快步前行，邁向正向的改變。

《關鍵兩年，台灣快轉》系列報導是願景工程的第一步，下周一我們將舉辦《關鍵兩年──為台灣經濟開路》高峰會，邀請各領域代表，共議關鍵兩年的優先選擇。在此，我們要特別感謝前副總統蕭萬長先生允任高峰會總主持人，他對本系列專題的製作及高峰會的建構，皆有密集與深刻的參與及指導；同時，我們也要向參加及指教協助本系列專題及高峰會的國內產官學精銳賢達，與跨國菁英表達最高謝忱。在這次「願景工程」的跨國探索中，我們益加確信，「經濟轉骨，台灣卓越」是台灣朝野必須共同「形塑影響、策動轉變」的關鍵課題。