Looking ahead, Taiwan’s continued industrial competitiveness will clearly depend on its degree of success in adopting an effective national energy policy. Considering Taiwan’s dearth of domestic natural resources, growing pressures to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and otherwise preserve the environment, and strong antipathy in some quarters to further development of nuclear power, devising satisfactory policy measures and building the political support to carry them out will be a difficult challenge for the government.

This month’s two-day National Energy Conference, the first such gathering since 2005, was therefore an excellent opportunity to work toward achieving greater consensus on setting energy goals. More than 200 government officials, academic specialists, and business leaders attended the session, ensuring that a wide variety of views was considered.

The latest round of negotiations has expanded the scope of direct passenger and cargo air travel, and set the stage for financial-sector agreements that will enable cross-Strait operations in banking, securities and futures, and insurance. Some observers are cautioning that implementation could still be difficult and gradual, however. Coming up later this year will be discussions on an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement that Taiwan’s political opposition regards with a great deal of suspicion.

By Jane Rickards