In line with the policy of the central government in Beijing, the city of Xiamen in China’s Fujian Province has come up with substantial incentives aimed at luring Taiwanese individuals and companies by allowing them to compete in the local market on an equal footing with locals.
Based on 31 measures announced by the Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Feb. 28 to encourage Taiwanese to study or develop their careers in China, Xiamen on Tuesday unveiled 60 of its own measures in a program that provides Taiwanese students and businesses with more comprehensive incentives in terms of study, start-ups and living in the city.
Xiamen authorities said the raft of measures would help create at least 5,000 jobs and training opportunities for Taiwanese jobseekers and interns each year, allowing them to enjoy the same treatment in the local employment market and subsidies for on-the-job training as locals.
After working for one year in Xiamen, Taiwanese with a master’s degree or higher who are younger than 35 would be eligible for a one-time subsidy of 30,000 yuan (US$4,772), while those aged 35 to 40 would be entitled to a subsidy of 50,000 yuan.
Taiwanese interns are to be granted an on-the-job training subsidy and 500 yuan for housing each month for a year. Those who go to Xiamen for internships longer than one month for the first time are to receive a 2,000 yuan transportation subsidy.
Taiwanese professionals who serve as experts in Xiamen’s municipal agencies on a contract basis from three to five years would receive a subsidy of 200,000 yuan per year, while Taiwanese teachers would be able to teach arts, physical education and music at local kindergartens and high schools on short-term exchange programs.
Due to Xiamen’s proximity to Taiwan, a special quarantine inspection zone is to be set up to more swiftly examine products originating from Kinmen, while a broader range of products imported by Taiwanese companies and certified by a third party are to be allowed in.
For Taiwanese enterprises, Xiamen is offering them the same treatment as the TAO.
While high-tech companies would be given preferential tax rates, Taiwanese businesses are also encouraged to establish shipping companies at the city’s Fujian Pilot Free-Trade Zone.
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