Taiwan's top industrial group said yesterday that Beijing authorities have agreed to establish a "business court for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau," to handle disputes between businessmen from the three areas and their Chinese trade partners.
The Taiwanese high technology executives have suggested they should be granted preferential treatment in light of Taiwan's weighty investment in the country. More than 50,000 local entrepreneurs are estimated to have invested more than US$40 in China since the commencement of civilian contacts in late 1987, cashing in on China's raw materials and cheap labor.
The 4,600-member Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA, 台灣區電機電子工業同業公會) -- headed by chairman Richard Wu (吳思鍾) -- currently repre-sents over 4,600 companies in fields ranging from semiconductors to telecommunications equipment and information technology.
TEEMA has lobbied Beijing for years to set up a special court to hear such cases, said Wu.
TEEMA raised the issue in meetings held with China's Ministry of Information Industry and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The 42-member delegation is currently on a 10-day on a fact-finding tour to Beijing, Shanghai and Ningbo to exchange ideas with Chinese officials and businessmen.
In addition, the group will request Chinese technicians be allowed to travel to Taiwan for training; TEEMA be permitted to set up a representative office; and special schools be constructed for children of Taiwanese executives.
Furthermore the trade body is expected to request that China "demonstrate sincerity" in developing direct trade, transportation and communications links with Taiwan.
TEEMA, which claims to account for more than 50 percent of the total value of Taiwan's industrial production, has insisted for months that the ban on direct air links with China could harm the competitiveness of Taiwan's high-tech industry.
Meanwhile, speaking on the cross-strait trade issue Sunday, President Chen Shui-bian (
Following heightened tensions between the island and China, Taiwan imposed a ban in 1996 on China-bound investment exceeding US$50 million and refused to allow any investment by the local high-tech and infrastructure sectors.
The MOEA's Investment Commission (
The commission said the sharp rise was largely due to expectations of China's admission to the WTO later this year and the business opportunities that would create.
In related news, China's Vice minister of the Ministry of Information Industry Chang Chun-chiang (
China is widely expected to enter the WTO later this year and Taiwan is expected to follow soon after.
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