China yesterday announced more measures to open its markets to Taiwanese firms and treat Taiwanese the same as Chinese, but Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) said they are just a ploy to divide Taiwanese and try to influence the Jan. 11 elections.
The new measures will allow Taiwanese companies to invest or participate in projects ranging from 5G to civil aviation to theme parks, and allow them to issue bonds to raise capital.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said the government would also make it easier for Taiwanese to live and work China as well as give them the right to seek consular help from Chinese embassies and consulates.
Photo: CNA
The 26 measures, which represent the “thorough implementation of [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s (習近平) promise to provide Taiwanese compatriots with equal treatment,” came into effect immediately, the TAO said.
The offer is Beijing’s latest example of Xi’s strategy to try to bypass official contact in favor of direct incentives aimed at embroiling Taiwanese firms, organizations and the public in the Chinese market and state subsidy system.
The new measures are another attempt to sell Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula to Taiwanese, but they actually offer few benefits and serve mainly as a way of influencing Taiwan’s elections, Ting said.
Beijing should be engaging in positive exchanges for cross-strait peace and stability, instead of launching yet another round of “favorable policies” focused on Taiwanese, he added.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said the new measures were aimed at promoting unification.
These so-called “favoring Taiwan efforts” are contradicted by Beijing’s continuing efforts to suppress this nation by grabbing its diplomatic allies, blocking its international space and conducting military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, a council statement said.
Those who go to China need to be aware of the risks and the “differences in the system,” the council added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement criticizing Beijing’s offer to allow Taiwanese in trouble abroad to seek assistance from Chinese embassies and consulates.
A source familiar with national security issues said the measures on “promoting cross-strait economic and cultural exchanges” were an attempt to implement Beijing’s “one country, two systems” in Taiwan.
They are also part of efforts by Beijing to mitigate the effects of an exodus of Taiwanese and foreign investors from the Chinese market due to the US-China trade dispute, the source said.
Taiwanese firms shifting operations to Taiwan or to Southeast Asian nations have put pressure on China, especially its technology sector, and the new steps are an attempt to counteract this situation, the source added.
“China is trying to rationalize its bullying of Taiwan on the world stage, while trying to convince Taiwanese that it is showing them benevolence,” the source said.
Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) once promised that after the 1997 Hong Kong handover “horse races would still go on, and nightclubs would stay open,” but the current situation in the territory proves life has not continued normally, the source said.
“Lessons can been drawn from Hong Kong’s case as to what Beijing’s granting of so-called ‘national treatment’ would be for Taiwanese,” the source added.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS