Traditional industries do not fear competition from China, but it must be on an even playing field, business people said at a meeting with Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) yesterday.
But the business people urged the government to be mindful of traditional industries when signing any economic agreements with China.
“Tea farmers are not afraid of competition from China. We are confident about the quality of our products. But how can we compete when there are many counterfeit Taiwanese teas coming from China?” asked Chen Chung-chien (陳聰鑑), a tea industry representative.
Chen also criticized the government for breaking its promises to help tea farmers, such as an unfulfilled vow to subsidize irrigation water and land.
Furthermore, he said that China-based tea farmers had an advantage because China did not levy property taxes and offered them free irrigation.
Businessman Yu De-er (游德二) from the ceramics industry said Chinese ceramics makers have lower overhead because they do not need to worry about environmental concerns or offer good employment conditions to their workers.
“I agree that the market should be allowed to develop freely, but this is not a game of survival of the fittest. The government must intervene when its people are being unfairly dealt with,” he said, adding that he was confident his industry could take on competition from China.
Businessman Huang Kuang-yi (黃光藝) from the bedding industry urged the government to negotiate with hypermarts such as Carrefour or RT Mart to set up special “made in Taiwan (MIT)” sections featuring only local produce.
The government must also crack down on businesses that mislabel their products to mislead consumers into thinking they are buying MIT products, he said.
Huang said that as far as the bedding industry was concerned, its products were mostly for domestic consumption; therefore, the signing of an agreement to avoid double taxation such as the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) would be useless to his industry.
Lai, however, said that the purpose of an ECFA was to promote fair trade and to safeguard the rights of Taiwanese industries by preventing discrimination.
Even though some industries feel that a provision against double taxation is unhelpful, “maybe in 10 years time you will decide to export your products and by then, you will be able to benefit from this policy,” she said.
Meanwhile, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Secretary-General Kao Koong-lian (高孔廉) said yesterday that the third meeting between his organization and the Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) could be held at the beginning of next month, which is earlier than expected.
Kao returned from Shanghai on Thursday night after negotiations with Beijing to discuss the progress of preparations for the third meeting between SEF Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
“Basically, the Chinese have agreed with our proposal to hold the third Chiang-Chen meeting in Nanjing. If all goes well, we do not rule out holding the meeting before early May,” Kao said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS