Kaohsiung City Mayor Han Kuo-yu recently proposed plans to set up a free economic pilot zone. Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong responded on the morning of March 11 that, though the spirit of free trade is important, but an economic zone might bring potential challenges such as the risk of money laundering, ensuring fairness of rental tax, and adhering to international standards. Su said this challenge must take the entirety of Taiwan into consideration and is not something that a regional government can do.
Recently, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu proposed plans to set up a free economic pilot zone in Kaohsiung. Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong said, on the morning of March 11, this is not something a local government can do.
Regarding rental tax, this is not something a local government can handle. I think the proposal of setting up individual free economic zones was struck down in 2016. If we really were going to set one up, we need to bring everyone together to talk about it. This is not something a local government can do on its own.
Su also said that the idea of setting up free economic zones was discussed when the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) was in power, and it didn't clear the Legislative Yuan in 2016. Su also said that the government must ensure an economic zone does not enjoy preferential treatments, and that the government must take the entire Taiwan into consideration if it was to set one up. Su said a free economic zone could also bring additional challenges, such as elevated risk of money laundering brought by tax-free offers, and the risk of having Taiwan listed as a non-cooperative jurisdiction by the European Union.
In the middle of a U.S.-China trade war, the question is whether Taiwan can integrate resources from its manufacturing and sales force and find new export destinations. This is a big challenge for Taiwan's export, especially when Taiwan is affected by its two biggest trading partners.
Su also stresses that a free economic zone does bring a number of advantages, and that the government is looking to implement the advantages in earlier proposals by amending current laws. Su said a free economic zone cannot drive economic breakthrough, and that the government still needs to focus on upgrading local industries.
日前高雄市長韓國瑜拋出高雄將重推自由經濟示範區構想，11號上午財政部長蘇建榮在立法院財政委員會表示，這不是一個地方政府單獨可以做的。
財政部長 蘇建榮表示：「有關於租稅的部分，這個是不能單獨的只有一個(地方來做)，我想(自經區)這部份會就是說，在105年的時候已經是廢止了，所以這個如果真的要做的話，必須大家一起來討論，也不是說哪一個地方政府要做就可以做的事情。」
蘇建榮表示，自由經濟示範區早在國民黨執政時期就已經已經討論過，但因2016年立法院沒有通過，屆期不續審，而且自經區還涉及租稅減免，不能區內、區外有不同待遇，必須以全國性來做考量。此外，自由經濟示範區對進入區內資金，提供免稅優惠，這不僅涉及洗錢防制問題，也可能讓台灣被列入稅務不合作名單的風險。
財政部長 蘇建榮說：「目前中美貿易爭端的時候，有沒有可能透過前店後廠的方式進行轉口貿易，這個會引起中美之間，對台灣來講出口貿易上面會有很大一個問題。」
但蘇建榮也強調，自經區還是有優點，近年政府已把先前自經區草案中的多項優點措施，逐步落實到現行法規裡，但自經區並沒辦法打破悶經濟，政府還是得要加速產業轉型。