The economics ministry held a press conference on Sunday responding to national security concerns posed by the controversial service trade agreement with China. That’s following the recent news that several dozen scholars had spoken out against the inclusion of the telecommunications sector in the agreement.
Sunday’s press conference included not only economics ministry officials, but also representatives from: the National Communications Commission (NCC); the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), which governs Taiwan’s China policy; and three telecom industry operators.
The economics ministry said Sunday that the three telecom-related items that the pact would liberalize were not large items, and that they had already been opened up in 2009. The ministry said that was not tantamount to a large-scale liberalization of Taiwan’s telecom industry.
Also, the ministry said that since 2012, Taiwan has had measures in place that prevent Mainland Chinese nationals from entering rooms where sensitive telecom equipment is housed.