Hsieh seeks more global capital inflow

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday proposed strategies to attract inbound investments and said he would open Taiwan to global capital, including investment from China.

As China is still hostile toward Taiwan, Hsieh said that investment in China must be regulated and that each investment project must take into account the uniqueness of every company. Investment projects must be also reviewed case by case, he said.

"Taiwan welcomes international investment, including that from China," Hsieh said on a visit to the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei.

"To prevent Chinese firms from buying out all Taiwanese businesses, a flexible and reasonable management mechanism must be implemented," he said.

While pro-independence activists have long been against easing the 40 percent investment cap on investment in China, Hsieh said he realized they are worried Taiwan would be emptied out, but added that the ceiling should be set on a case-by-case basis.

Hsieh also proposed granting amnesties to facilitate the return of capital remitted out of Taiwan via underground or illegal channels.

Hsieh said that if elected president, he would designate a "grace period" of between 18 months and 24 months for funds of this nature to encourage their return.

Hsieh said he would also lower the tax rates on inherited property and gifts to below 10 percent if elected next March, explaining that the measure would encourage the wealthy to keep their money in Taiwan.

Asked for comments, Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said the Executive Yuan respected the election promises made by presidential candidates.

Cabinet Spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said the government would take into account any election platform that helps improve the livelihood of Taiwanese.

Chinese Nationalist Party presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), on the other hand, questioned why the DPP could not relax the investment cap before President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) term ends in May.

"I first proposed relaxing the cap half a year ago. Although Hsieh proposed the policy six months later than I did, I still need to give him credit for this," Ma said when approached by the media for comments.

"Why didn't he come up with the policy until now? Didn't Hsieh realize [the need] when he was premier? Didn't his running mate, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), realize it when he was premier?" he asked.

Additional reporting by Flora Wang

Also see Shares rally on Hsieh's comments