Taiwanese on trial in China need aid

In a bid to safeguard the rights of China-based businesspeople from Taiwan, KMT Legislator Huang Chien-ting (黃健庭) yesterday urged the government to pay attention when the businesspeople are accused of violating laws in China.

Since Taiwan began allowing businesspeople to operate businesses in China, more than 400 in the Zhujiang area of Guangdong Province have stood trial or been indicted for allegedly violating Chinese regulations, Huang said.

"This statistic shows only those who operate businesses in the area. The actual number of cases elsewhere in China is far larger," Huang said.

Huang obtained the number from the Chinese Commercial and Industrial Coordination Society, a group that deals with cross-strait trade.

"In severe cases, there are those who get prison sentences," he said.

According to Huang, Taiwanese businesspeople usually find themselves in trouble for four reasons.

"Ignorance, negligence, a constrained business environment and risk-taking are the four reasons that China-based businesspeople find themselves engaging in illegal conduct," Huang said.

Illegal practices such as selling bonded products the Chinese market, making false import/export reports, purchasing invoices from third parties to evade taxes and dishonest management of accounting reports are among the practices that Taiwanese businesspeople engage in before finding themselves in trouble with the legal system in China, Huang said.

Huang said that because there is no official channel set up by the government to give Taiwanese businesspeople a helping hand with legal matters, they have nowhere to turn for advice when they encounter legal problems and thus, in many cases, end up being taken advantage of by Chinese officials.

According to information from the Mainland Affairs Council, as of last December, there were 27,276 registered Taiwanese corporations operating in China. It is widely believed that Taiwanese operations in China far exceed the number accounted for by the government.

Calling on the government to pay attention to the issue, Huang said the government should take proactive measures such as offering legal counsel to China-based businesspeople in order to help them gain a better understanding of the legal system in China.

"Other than providing legal counseling to help Taiwanese businessmen who operate legally in China, the government should also work to provide legal assistance to those who are facing trial in China," he said.