The number of Chinese businesspeople and white-collar workers traveling to Taiwan on business visas, which surpassed 110,000 last year, poses a growing threat to the nation’s job market and security, political observers said.
National Immigration Agency (NIA) statistics show the number of Chinese business travelers has increased from 15,000 in 2005 to 34,000 in 2008, 77,000 in 2013 and 111,422 last year.
The figure is expected to balloon if the cross-strait service trade pact is passed, which would allow more businesspeople and white-collar employees to work in this country, lowering wage levels, worsening youth unemployment and threatening national security, National Cheng Kung University law professor Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) said.
Photo: AFP
Hsu said that following an amendment to the Entry Permission to Taiwan Area for the People from Mainland China (大陸地區人民進入台灣許可辦法) in 2013, the immigration agency lifted restrictions on companies eligible for business entry, including the requirement of a minimum annual revenue of NT$10 million (US$317,900) and a maximum of 400 entries per year.
In addition to the 103,742 business travelers who stayed less than six months last year, 7,680 Chinese were employed in the name of “fulfilling a contract,” such as international job transfers, goods inspection, technical counseling and after-sale service, Hsu said.
Chinese businesspeople and white-collar workers can initially stay in Taiwan for three years and are eligible to have their stay extended, with no restriction on the number of renewals, he said.
The immigration agency and Ministry of Labor are unable and unwilling to deal with Chinese workers in Taiwan, Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general Son Yu-liam (孫友聯) added, citing an incident in New Taipei City in December last year in which a Chinese technician died while installing an elevator, proving that Chinese are working in Taiwan.
Son said the ministry requires that foreign workers be paid a monthly salary of at least NT$47,971 and that employers purchase labor insurance for their employees against occupational injuries, but that Chinese businesspeople are not under the jurisdiction of the ministry and are not subject to employment regulations.
Chinese businesspeople and white-collar workers provide a convenient option for employers who wish to cut costs, Son said.
Hsu cited a recent article in Defense News that said Taiwan’s open policy toward China helps pave the way for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to conduct clandestine activities to infiltrate Taiwanese society.
Chinese businesspeople and white-collar workers could pose an even greater threat to Taiwan’s national security than ordinary Chinese tourists, as they can stay in Taiwan for an extended period of time and become a “Chinese fifth column,” Hsu said.
The NIA said that easing entry regulations for Chinese businesspeople is aimed at facilitating small and medium-sized firm’s operations, and that it would redouble its inspections of such visitors.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from