Trump says Taiwan will allow $80 billion to purchase natural gas, Hsieh calls on government to make it clear

U.S. President Trump announced that Taiwan has committed to purchasing US$70 billion to US$80 billion in Alaskan natural gas over the next 20 years and investing an additional US$4.4 billion in equity investments. Hsieh asked the government to make it clear.

U.S. President Trump announced that Taiwan has committed to purchasing $70 billion to $80 billion in Alaskan natural gas over the next 20 years and investing an additional $4.4 billion in equity investment. Kuomintang Tainan mayoral candidate Xie Longjie said that in the face of such huge expenditures, the government must provide business and financial assessments and cannot let the Chinese people learn about major decisions through foreign media.

Xie Longjie pointed out that from last year’s visit to Alaska by Pan Meng’an, Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, to today’s announcement of procurement and investment by the United States, the Legislative Yuan has always paid attention to relevant developments. The Popular Party also questioned the lack of transparency in information and insufficient explanation of investment risks. Xie Longjie emphasized that since the government claims that it has carefully evaluated, it should provide specific basis to Congress and explain clearly the procurement conditions, funding sources and risk exposure.

In response to Economic Minister Gong Mingxin’s statement that long-term contract prices are very good, Xie Longjie asked: “How good are electricity prices? How cheap?” Natural gas cannot only look at the price quoted by the origin, but also needs to include transportation, insurance and other expenses to compare the complete cost of delivery to Taiwan. Long-term procurement and equity investment are two different expenditures and cannot be confused. The risks of project delays or cost increases should also be clearly explained.

Hsieh emphasized that Taiwan-U.S. cooperation should take into account both energy security and economic benefits, and professional assessments cannot be ignored due to pressure from tariff negotiations; the government is required to produce data to prove that the transaction is in Taiwan's interests. "If we really buy cheap natural gas, people's gas bills should reflect it; the cost of power generation is reduced, and there should be room for price reductions!" Letting the people actually benefit is the result that the government should deliver.