The amendment, proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍), would allow the establishment of free-trade zones on designated outlying islands. Procedures required for urban renewal projects and environmental impact assessment inside the free-trade zones would be streamlined, while rules governing the establishment and management of free-trade zones would be set by the local governments of outlying islands, the draft says. An official familiar with cross-strait issues said on condition of anonymity that such a matter should be handled based on the cross-strait act. The MAC in a report to the legislature last year said the Offshore Islands Development Act stipulates that the National Development Council and governments of the outlying islands should jointly assess if the islands are equipped with the infrastructure necessary to build a free-trade zone. Under the regulations, any approval for Chinese-invested businesses to set up in free-trade zones or parks must comply with Article 73 and other provisions of cross-strait act, it said.

Source: Taipei Times January 04, 2026 17:14 UTC