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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-08-06 Daily Xml
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Taiwan

Mr SPEIRS (Bright) (15:27): I rise today to provide some information about a recent trip I had the privilege to take to the Republic of China, better known as Taiwan. I travelled there as a guest of the Taiwanese government, along with the member for Newland and the member for Napier. The member for Newland spoke during a grievance speech on this trip yesterday.

I am extremely grateful to the Taiwanese government for the opportunity to undertake this trip and, in particular, to the Taiwan Cultural and Economic Office in Melbourne, capably led by Director General, Ms Judy Wong. The trip was only a few days long, but was packed with many activities which gave us the opportunity to develop a strong understanding of the economic and geopolitical environment which shapes modern Taiwan.

For those who are not aware of the facts and figures around Taiwan, it is a state in East Asia lying 180 kilometres off the coast of China. Taiwan has a population of 23.5 million, which is almost exactly the same as our own population here in Australia, but those 23.5 million live in an area that is only around half the size of Tasmania and, even at that, they only occupy around 30 per cent of the island.

Taiwan enjoys a multiparty democracy with universal suffrage. It is the 19th largest economy in the world, has a significant focus on high-tech industries and is one of the major world players in this space. Taiwan takes its political freedom very seriously and is ranked highly in the areas of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, health care, public education and religion. Something that Taiwan has a real emphasis on is the idea that they are a free society and a society where people are free to do what they want and get ahead.

Our visit to Taiwan involved a significant number of visits to key government agencies and organisations. This included a visit to the Mainland Affairs Council, which outlined the steadily improving relations between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China across the Taiwan Strait. The president of Taiwan, President Ma, has described the relationship between the two countries as a 'special relationship', and there is no doubt that improving relations are providing economic opportunities for both.

We noted that there are now 2.8 million tourists from mainland China going across to Taiwan each year and this has been an economic boon for the island. Many tourists choose to visit the unique artworks which were brought from mainland China, and which were consequently saved from the Cultural Revolution and are retained today in Taipei's National Palace Museum which we had the privilege to view last week when we were there.

The Mainland Affairs Council outlined the success of a range of bilateral agreements which have been signed between Taiwan and mainland China. Again these are strengthening the historically challenging relationship between the two countries. Other engagements in the capital city included visiting the Council of Agriculture, meeting with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a visit to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, to the Atomic Energy Council, to Hsinchu Science Park and to the Yulon Motor Company.

We also travelled to the south of the island and, in doing so, got to experience Taiwan's impressive high-speed rail which took us over 300 kilometres in just an hour and a half. In the southern city of Kaohsiung we visited the free trade zone that has been established there as well as an agricultural biotechnology park.

My time in Taiwan was one of significant learning and I believe was time well spent. Being able to more fully understand the economic links between Australia and Taiwan was incredibly important. It was interesting to note that Taiwan is actually Australia's seventh largest export market and our 14th largest source of merchandise exports in 2013. Exports between Australia and Taiwan were worth $7.4 billion in 2013 and our main exports there include iron ore, coal, aluminium, crude petroleum but also there is an increasing interest in Australian lifestyle products and food.

I want to place on the record my thanks to the Taiwanese government for being such welcoming hosts and for showing me and my colleagues around their special country. I believe there are many opportunities for Australia to build stronger and lasting relationships with Taiwan and equally for South Australia to do the same, and I believe that there will be substantial economic dividends for both countries as this relationship progresses into the future.

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