The Executive Yuan will definitely accept legislative oversight of the nation's negotiations to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), including the choice of membership name, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford said today.
The minister stated that the nation will absolutely not join the AIIB if it is being denigrated or treated without parity or suffers loss of national dignity.
Chang made these statements during an interview with Executive Yuan Spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun on the Executive Yuan's live webcast today about the nation's application to join the AIIB as a founding member.
Sun noted that there is public concern about the government's application and expressed hope that citizens' doubts would be dispelled through direct communication between the administration and netizens via the webcast.
Chang said that the main purpose of the AIIB is to help Asian nations develop basic infrastructure. Since Taiwan has abundant funds, talent and technology, joining the organization can benefit the nation's domestic financial, insurance and construction industries, raise its international visibility and further integrate it into the regional economy.
At present the nation has only sent a letter of intent to join the AIIB, and negotiations will begin only after it has won approval to become a founding member, the minister pointed out.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo has directed the establishment of a cross-agency task force under the Executive Yuan, with Vice Premier Chang San-cheng as convener. The task force will strengthen communication with the Legislature to forge consensus.
Minister Chang reiterated that the government's decision to join the AIIB was not a spur-of-the-moment action but rather a decision based on long-term scrupulous assessments. Agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Public Construction Commission and Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) had already formulated related evaluation reports.
On October 24, 2014, mainland China and 20 other countries and areas signed memorandums of understanding on setting up the AIIB. Two weeks later, at the November 6 Cabinet meeting, then-Premier Jiang Yi-huah directed the Ministry of Finance to formulate relevant response strategies.
Minister Chang will report to the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee tomorrow, and after that his report will be placed online for public reference.
The Executive Yuan's webcast was held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. today. During this hour, the number of netizens simultaneously viewing the broadcast peaked at 228, and 847 hits were registered. Netizens left 617 messages and opened 108 parallel streams. Average viewing time was a little over 14 minutes. The webcast can be viewed at the Executive Yuan's "Open Mic" channel on YouTube.
For more information, please visit:
1. Minister Chang's responses to queries on joining the AIIB (in Chinese)
2. The Executive Yuan's Facebook page (in Chinese)
3. The Executive Yuan's "Open Mic" channel on YouTube (in Chinese)