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.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS