A fourth and final public forum concluded this weekend in the eastern city of Hualien, ahead of a national conference on economic affairs. That was following similar regional meetings in northern, central and southern Taiwan.
The purpose of the meetings is to allow the public to voice opinions ahead of the National Conference on Trade and Economics, which will take place in Taipei on July 26-28.
The government proposed the three-day conference in response to student-led protests which occupied the legislature for three weeks earlier this year. Those protests focused on a trade agreement with China.
The focus of this weekend’s forum included strategies for Taiwan’s development in the face of globalization, and strategies for cross-strait trade and Taiwan’s participation in regional trade pacts.
One of the concerns broached at the forum in Hualien was that while people in Taiwan largely agree on the issues of globalization and liberalization of the local economy, there are concerns that globalization is tantamount to giving China more influence on Taiwan. Therefore, participants called on the government to increase trade with other countries in order to allay that concern.
Tourism and recreational farms are an important part of the economy in eastern Taiwan, offering investment and job opportunities. During the forum, some of the participants raised concerns about Chinese investment in the tourism industry, saying that it would have an impact not only on the Taiwan economy, but also on young jobseekers.