Media ignore China investment risks

Over the past six months, more and more books with enticing names such as The Winning Commercial Potential of 1.3 Billion Chinese, Dipping into the Golden Bowl of Shanghai, and Thirty-five Gold-Panning Measures for the Mainland Stock Market, have begun to crowd the shelves in Taiwan's book stores. While many publications focus on quick ways to get rich and the positive developments in China, few go beyond that.

According to critics, they are riding on Taiwan's misfortune, rather than giving a realistic depiction of conditions across the Taiwan Strait.

Until June, there were five to 10 books about China's stock market, immigration, investment and job opportunities published per month.

In June alone, there were seven new books published about China while sales of this kind of book have hit 70,000 over the past six months, with average sales for such titles in the region of 8,000 to 10,000 a year.

One-sided view

Business Weekly magazine's executive editor, Wang Wen-ching (王文靜), who has just published a book which offers 17 examples of Taiwanese successfully investing in China, explained that the trend began when Taiwan's economy began to falter at the end of last year.

"When the trend started at the end of last year, most publications about investing in China had high sales, no matter what they were about. However, the fever has calmed after about six months because Taiwanese readers are seeking more detailed information from this kind of publication," Wang said.

A senior business journalist, Cheng Hung-yi (鄭弘儀), who hosts two TV news programs as well as a radio show, said that while information regarding China's economic development is mostly positive, it doesn't mean that the investment environment is stable.

"Shanghai's economic growth rate is much higher than 7 or 8 percent, since the government averages it together with provinces like Xinjiang and Gansu. As far as I know, Suzhou's [where many Taiwanese have money invested] annual economic growth rate is 32 percent, Cheng said.

"But at the same time, it's a high-risk market.

"There are definitely some successful Taiwanese investments there, but I believe even more investments are failing," Cheng said.

Magazines face the same problems as books, said Tseng Yen-fen (曾嬿芬), a sociologist from National Taiwan University.

"Some magazines try to appear like they give adequate coverage of the disadvantages of investing in China. But all they cover are the positive stories about China. And when they cover the negative stories, they still find a positive angle," Tseng said.

Tseng said that one publication recently praised the diligence of children in Shanghai who sell flowers into the early hours of the morning, regretting that "this type of zeal for work is unlikely to appear in Taiwan ever again."

The article, however, failed to mention the dramatic contrast between development in China's coastal cities and inland provinces. It also failed to note the fact that millions of China's floating population have fled to the nation's special economic zones because opportunities in their home towns are so scarce.

Superficial information

In Thirty-five Gold-Panning Measures for the Mainland Stock Market, the book's author Yao Yi has an interesting perspective on "corruption."

While admitting that corruption is serious, Yao writes, "the situation also means that the Chinese government is flexible, which is good for foreign investors."