Taiwan and Vietnam are negotiating a new bilateral investment agreement (BIA) aimed at protecting Vietnam-based Taiwanese companies, including those registered with the local government, but that do business worldwide, a government official said yesterday.
However, because it remains unclear when the negotiations can be concluded, only Taiwanese companies doing business in Vietnam can ask for compensation from the Vietnamese government under the existing BIA for losses resulting from recent anti-China riots, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh (杜紫軍) said.
“We hope the Vietnamese government can also recognize Taiwanese companies that registered as businesses in Vietnam, but trade internationally, so they can be protected under the Taiwan-Vietnam BIA,” Duh told the legislature’s Economics Committee.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Earlier last week, violence broke out across Vietnam as local residents demonstrated against China’s deployment of an oil rig in waters claimed by the country. Taiwanese firms, such as Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co (正新橡膠) and Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), also suffered from the attacks.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) and Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) demanded that the government act aggressively to protect Vietnam-based Taiwanese companies. They even suggested the Ministry of Economic Affairs persuade the attacked firms to move back to Taiwan.
In response, Duh said the current version of Taiwan-Vietnam BIA, which was signed in 1993, ensures governments compensate foreign companies through tax exemptions, low interest rate loans and delayed mortgage payments.
The two countries started talks about overhauling the BIA more than a year ago because the treaty was found to be flawed in comparison with BIAs of other countries that guarantee protection of offshore businesses, as well as government-to-government compensation, Duh said. While the ministry is revamping the BIA with its Vietnamese counterpart, Taiwanese businesses should collect evidence of attacks by Vietnamese protesters against their properties for future compensation applications, he added.
As of Sunday, 224 Taiwanese companies’ plants were reported to have been damaged during the riots, with 18 firebombed and five completely destroyed, according to ministry statistics.
About 1,100 Taiwanese companies have not yet resumed their operations due to security concerns, with most from the shoe, clothing, furniture, bicycle and electronics manufacturing industries, the ministry said.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) is to lead a task force on a trip to Vietnam tomorrow.
Duh said the ministry will conclude assessing the losses to Taiwanese firms by Friday, when Shen is scheduled to meet Vietnamese government officials.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS