Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) said yesterday that fines for Taiwanese companies which violate the regulations on China-bound investment will be increased -- and the companies will be prosecuted if they refuse to withdraw their illegal investments.
Lin said that after revised regulations are passed by the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan manufacturers who invest in the mainland without getting prior approval from the ministry's Investment Commission, will be fined up to NT$25 million (US$746.270).
The manufacturers will also face imprisonment of up to two years if they refuse to withdraw their illegal investments from the mainland, Lin said. The minister noted that, under the current Statute Governing the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, fines for violators are between NT$1 million and NT$5 million. But the minimum fine is too high, while the maximum fine is too low and they fail to provide an effective deterrent, he said.
For this reason, the ministry and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) -- the nation's top mainland policy planner -- have decided to revise the regulations, which are at present being reviewed in the Executive Yuan and will be sent to the next session of the legislature, due to open in September.
In the future, violators of the law will be fined between NT$50,000 and NT$25 million, Lin said. If the heads of the companies refuse to withdraw their investments in the mainland, they will be prosecuted and will face jail terms of up to two years, he added.
An MAC official stressed yesterday that the revision will not only target wafer-chip makers.
The council's vice chairman, Johnnason Liu (劉德勳), also stressed that care will have to be taken over the imposition of prison terms, saying that, as investment in the mainland is a corporate decision, further discussions will be needed to decide who in the enterprise should take responsibility.
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