The Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University held a conference on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Taiwan’s Future Development Strategy on October 11 and 12.
Larry Diamond, director of CDDRL, invited scholars from the US, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand and other countries to participate in the event.
Six issues addressed were: 1) the evolving structure of the economic and trading environment in East Asia; 2) the history and geopolitics of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); 3) the challenges of free trade in Taiwan; 4) perspectives of East Asian countries with regard to the TPP; 5) Taiwan’s development for the next phrase; 6) Taiwan’s strategy and the future of the TPP.
Scholars attending the conference met to exchange views about Taiwan’s participation in TPP issues. They generally agreed that the TPP is the best choice for Taiwan to participate in regional trade and economic integration. Further agreeing that the island should take advantage of this opportunity to promote economic structural reforms and industrial upgrading, demonstrating its determination to liberalize and reform so as to solicit the support of the US and other TPP negotiating members.
As an important economic power in the world, Taiwan should not be excluded from Asia-Pacific regional economic integration. Taiwan needs to ratify its free trade agreement with New Zealand, and the trade and services agreement within the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China, and conclude the free trade negotiations with Singapore as soon as possible.
Taiwanese scholars attending the event included Tien Hung-mao (president of the Institute for National Policy Research), Hu Sheng-cheng (fellow at Academia Sinica), Chen Tain-ji (economics professor at National Taiwan University), Ho Szu-yin (professor at National Cheng Chi University), Mignonne Chan (adjunct associate professor at National Cheng Chi University), San Gee (vice chairman at the Taiwan External Trade Development Council), Chu Yun-han (professor at National Taiwan University) and Lee Chun (deputy executive director at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research).
The participating scholars’ reports have been published on CDDRL’s website: http://cddrl.stanford.edu/search/?query=TPP+Taiwan¢er=cddrl&x=-1100&y=-133&doctype =.