Instead of trying to block investment from flowing into China, the government should help local industries take advantage of the massive and growing market, said KMT Legislator Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠), who is also an economics professor at National Chengchi University.
"We have to admit the fact that our economic dependence on China is growing, while China's dependence in Taiwan is declining," Lee said.
"Other foreign companies have already introduced the technologies that we ban in China," the lawmaker said.
If the government keeps preventing businesses from capitalizing on China's cheap labor and resources, companies such as UMC will find a way to invest there anyway by getting around regulations, Lee said.
China has become Taiwan's largest trading partner, with the bilateral trading volume reaching NT$7.66 billion in January -- a 42.5 percent jump from a year ago, according to statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
An unnamed banking executive told the Central News Agency yesterday that the banking sector will respect the government's decision in terms of adjusting its cross-strait policies.
But the executive expressed the hope that the government will continue a policy of openness when it comes to cross-strait trade and investment.
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