The letter by Chimei Corp chairman Hsu Wen-lung (許文龍), "In Support of one China," published in a local newspaper on March 26, has caused great harm to the interests of Taiwan and its people. As Taiwanese and intellectuals, we feel compelled to declare our view of Hsu's action.
First, any company investing in any country must first assess the risk of investing in that country. Doing so is common sense. China is a totalitarian communist regime not ruled by law. Because they know that, companies from around the world invest there very cautiously. By comparison, Taiwanese companies show a serious lack of awareness of the risks of investing in China, and they jump at the opportunity to do so.
The high political risk should be shouldered by the companies, and there is no reason why the government should protect these companies or why the Taiwanese public should shoulder the risks. Taiwan and China do not maintain diplomatic relations. Once a Taiwanese company gets in trouble in China, it will be very difficult for the government to give it effective assistance.
Second, the Chinese regime constantly pressures Taiwan and does nothing to conceal its ambition to annex it. Faced with such an enemy, companies investing there show a clear lack of awareness of the difference between friend and foe as well as a total lack of a national awareness. We therefore do not find it strange when Hsu becomes a hostage [to this situation] and betrays both himself and the nation. We do find it regrettable.
Third, the "Hsu Wen-lung incident" has caused irreparable damage both to his own reputation and to national interests. At the same time, it also teaches Taiwanese society an alarming and negative lesson. We and many other social activists have long made many calls and written many articles without being able to counterbalance the magnetic attraction of China to industry.
Sometimes a major incident shakes us up more than the endless exhortations of intellectuals. We hope that the Hsu incident will be able to make society and business review the serious effects of investments in China.
Fourth, our most serious concern is that if this kind of incident is repeated, the accumulated harm will not be limited to a serious deterioration of Taiwan's economic competitiveness. It may even cause the "collective national will" to collapse completely.
Fifth, we demand that the government immediately gives overall reconsideration to the "active opening, effective management" policy of investing in China. If the government is incapable of effectively managing Taiwanese businesspeople investing in China, it will jeopardize our economic development as well as national security, and cause serious harm to the whole country.
China's "Anti-Secession" Law is already being used to hold Taiwanese businesspeople hostage and force them to undertake actions detrimental to Taiwan's national interests. In order to strengthen Taiwan, the government must show decisiveness by putting forward policies to slow corporate investment in China, and improving the domestic investment climate to attract businesspeople back home.
Translated by Perry Svensson
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
The two major opposition parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), jointly announced on Tuesday last week that former TPP lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) would be their joint candidate for Chiayi mayor, following polling conducted earlier this month. It is the first case of blue-white (KMT-TPP) cooperation in selecting a joint candidate under an agreement signed by their chairpersons last month. KMT and TPP supporters have blamed their 2024 presidential election loss on failing to decide on a joint candidate, which ended in a dramatic breakdown with participants pointing fingers, calling polls unfair, sobbing and walking
RSS